Further action is required to make this featured image accessible
The below criteria must be satisfied:
- Add featured-image alt tag (in page properties OR on image metadata in the dam)
The image will not display until the issue above is resolved.
Statue Sets Questions in Motion at Design College
University of Cincinnati urban planning student Alan Marrero is beside himself with satisfaction or at least he quite literally could be.
Marrero, 22, stole up a ladder last Sunday morning to place a sculpture of himself on a high ledge overlooking the main thoroughfare of UCs
College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
. Hed made and then positioned the life-like statue as part of an elective Installation Art course taught by Matt Lynch, assistant professor of fine art.
Come Monday, the work immediately began attracting attention. Jay Chatterjee, former dean of the college and current professor of architecture and planning, actually began scolding what he thought was a student foolishly endangering himself. "I said, 'You get down from there right now!'" admitted Chatterjee, adding that he then went right into the administrative offices to report the matter: "I didn't stop. It was early morning , around 8 a.m., and I wanted the staff in the office to help get that student down. So, I said, 'There's this guy up there.' They then told me to go out and take another look."
Chatterjee stated that he was more than startled by the statue, which added urgency to his reaction. "It actually gave me a flashback to about 12 years ago when I was dean. Some students went on a similar ledge outside on the south side of the building. They were sunbathing or reading or something like that on a three-foot ledge that was about three stories up. One of them actually fell and was seriously injured. That's why I was doubly startled and told him to get right down," he explained.
He isn't the only one to mistake art for reality. Passing students have been heard to question the statue, How did you get up there?!
Further action is required to make this image accessible
One of the below criteria must be satisfied:
- Add image alt tag OR
- Mark image as decorative
The image will not display on the live site until the issue above is resolved.
Ive heard some of the reactions myself, said Marrero who admitted to walking by the work as often as possible to gauge reactions. Ive also heard people talking in class about it. They dont know that Im the one who made it. Considering that you make art to get a reaction, its been pretty cool.
He explains that his assignment required students to make site-specific sculptures that fit within the culture of their college. Marrero figured that nothing was more ubiquitous at DAAP than a student working on his laptop. So, he gathered up wood, chicken wire, plaster and paint plus some of his own clothes and his own glasses to make Ethan, the name he gave the work.
Ethan turned out to be a self-portrait, not because I planned it that way but because when I needed a model, I was always there, said Marrero who took a week to fashion and paint the sculpture. Even in studio before hed even put a head on Ethan, Marrero began getting reactions: Teachers were startled when theyd walk in and see him at night. The proportions were so right. People would come up and say, Thats creepy. Everyone reacted even then. I found that very encouraging.
Marrero needed that kind of encouragement to paint the Ethan face. Never having painted before in his life, he recalls sitting and staring at the paint and the paint palette a long time before daring to wield the brush. Fortunately, I was using acrylic paint, which dries quickly. So, when I messed up, I could paint a new face pretty quickly, Marrero stated.
The work, even while deliberately making use of humor and surprise, dovetails naturally into his academic and research interests as a planning student: Ive always been interested in public art that reflects the space which it inhabits. In fact, my thesis is about using public art in the process of place making.
The class requirements for Marrero and other students in the course called for a week-long exhibition of pieces; however, it seems that Ethan will perch in place a little longer. Said Marrero, Im not taking him down till Im told to.
Related Stories
Baylee Schmitt crocheted the childhood bedroom she shared with...
January 17, 2025
UC employee Baylee Schmitt featured in The Boston Globe for her art works made out of yarn.. Schmitt earned her master’s of fine arts degree at Miami University and now manages the University of Cincinnati printmaking lab at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) and teaches there as well.
Makerspace boot camp fast-tracks training for student co-ops
January 13, 2025
In a groundbreaking collaboration, the University of Cincinnati's Ground Floor Makerspace and the visionary minds at Kinetic Vision combined their creative forces to pioneer an immersive makerspace bootcamp — tailor-made for UC co-ops destined to shape the future.
Alumni to be honored at gala recognizing UC Black excellence
January 13, 2025
Outstanding achievements within the University of Cincinnati family are the focus of the 11th annual Onyx & Ruby Gala, to be hosted by the UC Alumni Association’s African American Alumni Affiliate on Feb. 22 at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati.