Construction of an interactive sculpture is on the front lawn of the Mulvane Art Museum. It is the work of Art professor Monette Mark’s Design II class. The name of the artwork is “Scaled Reflections.”

 “I love it,” said Mark. “I love projects like this that get students involved in a major undertaking.

The planning stages of the artwork have been in the works for a while. “We’ve been working on this for two months, said Jennie Kelly, a junior art major. “We made mockettes, which are mini presentations of designs for the artwork we wanted to do. We presented them to the museum board. They picked from two mockettes we had and chose the one they wanted that would best tie in with the current exhibit inside the museum.”

“This is supposed to go along with a two-dimensional design,” said Sheldon Malicke, a junior graphic design major. “It shows scale through a series of prisms and triangles.  There will be a center piece covered in a Mylar mirror alternative. It will be reflecting gestures and drawings. It is for people of all ages to play with and draw on.”

Mark says the facilities service at Washburn have been very helpful with the installation. Everyone was bundled up and wearing gloves in the sub-freezing air the first day of the installation. It will take more days to complete the set-up, weather permitting.

The first floor of the museum has an exhibit called “A Matter of Scale” that both ties in and reflects the lawn sculpture. The exhibit then ties in with the artwork of the “Masters of Mulvane” collection on the second floor representing the 90 year anniversary of the museum so that it all comes full circle, the old with the new.

The first floor of the museum exhibit that replicates the “Masters of Mulvane” collection on the second floor of the museum is with computer graphics that change with viewer interaction and manipulation. Student artwork has been added to the first floor computer graphic exhibit created by Luke Anderson, a senior computer information sciences major.

Creating visual effects through the tie-in with the elements of the artwork is an organizing principle used by the artists for this exhibit. It is working together and responding with contrasts, variations, special effects, motion and spatial properties. There is a repetition on theme, scale and motion that has been created using the three exhibits.

The perception of the viewer of the artwork will change as one works their way through the different exhibits.

There will be an opening reception for the student display Dec. 5 at 5:30 p.m. The exhibit is innovative and explorative with visitor interaction being a major component. The show is only up until Dec. 12 and is a worthwhile stop even for those who might not normally go to an art exhibit, because it is unique, playful and thought provoking.