Over winter break, two new art pieces were installed in the Frank Melville Memorial Jr. Library and the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Center by the same artist: Anika Griffing ‘24.
These two new installations appear after Griffing and Mariana Suarez Molina, a junior majoring in health science, won the Campus Beautification Committee’s (CBC) first-ever ART Tank that provided support to display their artistic visions on the University’s campus.
Located in the Central Reading Room, Griffing’s first installation, titled “For the Record,” includes artwork on 30 vinyl records, aiming to illustrate the connections between astronomy and music theory. For example, one vinyl is decorated with phases of the moon while another vinyl includes a grid resembling a graph. Arranged in a horizontal galaxy pattern, the installation is hung across from the front desk.
Griffing, who graduated in December as a multi-disciplinary studies major with concentrations in music and studio art, expressed that the theme of the paintings was to advocate the blend of art and science with education.
“Bring the A back into STEAM,” Griffing said. “I wanted to make a point that you can’t have art without science. You can’t have science without art. They’re two sides of the same coin.”
Griffing’s second installment includes five separate rectangular paintings that visually explore unproven astrophysics theories. It takes you from the axion, a hypothetical elementary particle, to the multiverse, a theory describing the existence of multiple spheres of universes. Located on the second floor, the paintings line the two main hallways of the CAPS building.
Donna Thorbjornsen, a triage assistant at CAPS who works right in front of the pieces, spoke about how the beautification of the student’s artwork elevated the look of her workplace.
“I think the paintings are fabulous,” Thorbjornsen said. “It brings more warmth back into the building. Anika worked very hard for it and is an amazing artist. Seeing her work gives me a proud feeling, like a proud parent.”
Both works were installed on the same day, taking around two hours each to set up. Griffing installed the artwork alongside her father, Robert Griffing, and other members of the CBC.
Michell Trinka, the founder of the CBC and a digital media manager for Advancement, said that the CBC’s goal with each installation is to build on the community and to raise student artists.
“We’re looking towards community building, making ways that we can create a space that when people are not on campus, that they’ll remember the great times that they had,” Trinka said. “They’ll remember all the wonderful color and pops of passion and different things that they, you know, experienced helping to put those pieces on the walls.”
Currently, the CBC is working on installing the second ART Tank winner’s mural in Melville Library, although the exact location is undetermined. The CBC is also planning a continuation of a project in collaboration with the greenhouse club, in which the committee has focused on beautifying the native garden outside of the Life Sciences Building.
Trinka further explained that students aren’t fully aware of the power they have in making the campus theirs.
“The students don’t realize the role that they can play,” Trinka said. “They don’t realize the level that they can play. They don’t realize the level that they could achieve, who they are working with and they think of themselves as just a student. But there’s so much more than that and the students that work with us on these collaborative commission pieces realize that, and you see them grow and roll with the punches.”
