I think I first visited the UW campus in fourth grade, during a field trip (But why we were there, I have no idea. I just remember walking on the tree-lined paths, thinking, "I want to go to school here some day..."), and later that year began a string of 13 recitals that were held at Meany Theatre. After that, I went to the campus many, many times, from recitals to excursions to the massive libraries to concerts to just hanging out. But in all that time, and all those trips, I never realized how much artwork was on campus and in the buildings. Even when I was a student there, I'd only sort of half-notice art in the hallways, blinded by tunnel vision as I was rushing from class to class, getting pushed around by the throngs of other students who were rushing from class to class. So the idea of an art tour of the UW campus was both intriguing and puzzling -- I was curious about the artwork I'd seen on campus, but honestly, I didn't think there was that much art on campus. (But I was also intrigued by the MOHAI note that "many of the best pieces are off display and hard to see. ... [Y]ou'll see works of art few have ever seen..." Ooh! Exploring! Hidden things! Poking around the UW! Okay, I'm in!)
The tour began at one of the prettiest locations on campus, Drumheller Fountain/Frosh Pond (while not a WPA work, still a magnificent landmark to meet at). There, Roger van Oosten, our art historian/tour guide gave us a bit of background about the WPA, specifically the art-side of it. He described how artists would all work in the Alaska Building in Seattle, punching the time clock when they arrived and left for the day, and of course how working on a schedule seems so contrary to the artistic spirit. The other thing he told us that I found interesting was that many WPA-era artworks looked back to past glories and ahead to the bright future, avoiding the depression of their present time.
From there, we went into the adjacent Bagley Hall. Given that the building is the Chemistry building, the first two pieces of art we looked at were chemistry/science-related: hanging lamps shaped like glass globes in the main hallway, and a two-panel tile mural that looked back to early science in ancient Egypt and to discoveries in modern chemistry.
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| Modern Chemistry, R.B. Inverarity, tile, 1941. |
In the Communications building, there was a four-panel mural, two panels in one classroom, another panel in a different classroom, and a fourth panel in a back hallway of one of the upper floors. I thought the two that were together were especially stunning -- oil on canvas, the browns and greens I tend to think of when I think of murals from the 1930s and 1940s, and, fittingly, relating to newspapers and journalism. The other thing I liked about this mural, especially the panel pictured below and the one that was in the hallway, is that you can see how the mural was taken apart for transport. If you look at the upper corners, you can see seams running diagonally from top to side. I always wondered how they move art that isn't displayed where it's created. Now I know. (van Oosten pointed out that the fourth panel also shows where some well-intentioned person or people tried to clean the mural at one time... Not so successful. Thankfully they stopped before it got too bad.)
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| Men Sitting at a Table, Eustace Ziegler, oil on canvas, ca. 1930 |
I think perhaps my favorite mural of the tour, though, was in Hutchinson Hall, part of the School of Drama. On the top floor, there's a rehearsal room that apparently is super-special, and you need top-level security clearance to get in, along with knowing the secret handshake, the password, being able to find and make your way through the secret tunnels and passageways, and you have to submit a blood sample to enter the room. Okay, maybe not, but it's apparently a super special room that not everyone is allowed in to. But! Because we were on the MOHAI tour where "doors would be unlocked," we got to go in (And let me also say that one of the official members of our tour was a UW security guard who had keys to all of the buildings and rooms. So yes, doors were indeed unlocked just for us.). In this fancy rehearsal room (Which--let me digress again--I could have lived in. Or, someone could be tortured in. It was on the top floor, and I think it might have been the only room on the floor, or at least the only room on the top floor of that wing. It had a high ceiling with ... wooden planks? ... lining it, church-looking huge arched windows, dark red drapes (maybe velvet), and a super-awesome chandelier that looks like once upon a time it held candles, instead of electric lights. Seriously, I could see this room being the place of doom in a castle, where the fair maiden is held captive by the villain... and yet, it was so cool. But I digress.) was a series of three panels: Theatre of the East, Theatre of the West, and Theatre at the Time of Shakespeare, all done in 1937 (and more of the theme of looking back to past greatness). The colors of the mural were vivid and popped from the canvas, and each panel had different figures representing the theme of the panel. Something about those colors just made me like it. Plus, it was in the super-top-secret room, so that made it even more special and significant, since so few people get to see that one.
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| Theatre of the East, oil on canvas, 1937. |
In all, I think we saw 16 pieces, forming 8 murals, on our 1.5-hour-long tour. There was a variety of mediums--tile, oil, cast iron--and surfaces--canvas and directly onto walls. I honestly never realized the buildings on the UW campus had so much artwork--and those are just the WPA-era works! I think I'd like one day to go from building to building, looking in every hallway, office, and classroom for art hanging up. It would be like a scavenger hunt!
(And just like MOHAI promised, we got to go places that most people don't get to enter. Not only did we visit the rehearsal room in Hutchinson Hall, but we finished our tour in the Smith Room in Suzzallo Library, a place so special that you have to reserve it and pay to use it, and is where candidates for UW President are interviewed. Fancy. And really, the room is majestic. The windows are the same grand windows visible from Red Square, with all their stained glass, and the furniture is a beautifully-stained dark wood. It's lovely. I'd like to live there, too.)
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