Jessica Roginski – Copy Editor
On the morning of Feb. 10, Earl Hall was transformed into a festive display of love. Hearts of all different colors lined the halls and artist lockers, each with its own sweet message. These hearts not only brought out festivity, but also a sense of positive energy throughout the building.
The purpose of the installment is, “to make people happy and to make them feel good about themselves,” according to Tracy Henri, sophomore printmaking major, one of the creators of the hearts.
The installation, “The Hall of Love,” started as an assignment for Henri and Kelsey Page, senior ceramics major, in their class, history of street art. They explained that their task was to make a street art installation in order to spread positivity throughout campus.
“It was just supposed to be an assignment on love so we thought about the conversational heart idea with different quotes on them,” said Page.
With that idea, they began to write as many sayings as they could think of, such as “Love yourself first,” and “Love wins” on over 400 colorful hearts. The process of making this piece included, writing, copying, cutting and pasting, and took the two students around three hours. But they said it was not a grueling process since a few people walking by, students and professors, decided to stop by and help.
Page and Henri also decided to make their installation interactive, since they came up with the warm sayings while in class, and then people kept giving them ideas for more. So, they made blank ones, where people could write their own quotes.
“A lot of people wanted to take part in it which was nice,” said Page. “That’s why we put some of the blank hearts up so people could write their own sayings.”
Henri said that Professor Carr, who teaches studio art, wrote, “Share Your Art” on one of the hearts in flowing calligraphy.
Both Henri and Page said they were extremely happy and excited to see their installation up in Earl Hall, and that it created a different atmosphere for the building. Page said that people looked different when they walked down the halls. They smiled, read the messages, and even took pictures to add to their Snapchat.
Amanda Deschenes, senior and graphic design major, was delighted with the installation and stopped to take a picture of it when walking down the hall.
“I thought it was adorable and I haven’t seen something like this since the four years I’ve been here, so I immediately thought it was extremely festive and it definitely brought out the family feel that we have going here,” said Deschenes.
Since the spring semester is finally in full swing and the stress is catching up to students, the positive messages spread throughout the building created a sense of good energy and happiness in the art building.
“It changed the atmosphere of Earl, from all work to a little play and fun,” said Page.
While everyone seemed to be busy to completing their next assignment and rushing off to class, the hearts and friendly messages in the hallways provoked a sense of community and excitement in the building.
“I think the positivity is something we don’t see enough of, I’d like to see much more of that,” said Deschenes.
Photo Credit: Jessica Roginski