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| Duct Tape Art Winners: Melissa Walker (left) and Mariah Walton earned first prize in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's first Duct Tape Art Contest with their beautiful replication of “The Scream” painting -- all from strands of colored duct tape. |
The creativity of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology students has been on full display this school year through artistic competitions, music concerts, dramatic performances and just plain fun campus activities.
Getting the creative juices flowing was a Duct Tape Art Contest in early January, organized by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and sponsored by the 3-M Corporation.
Student teams had two hours to create two- and three-dimensional art objects from more than 200 rolls of vinyl duct tape in a spectrum of colors. There was grey duct tape, of course, along with black, white, red, blue, yellow and green.
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| Musical Display: Benjamin Barrett and Kimiko Parker put the finishing touches on their piano exhibit that was created from black, white and yellow duct tape during Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Duct Tape Art Contest. |
Melissa Walker and Mariah Walton used very color to replicate Edward Munch’s famous “The Scream” painting (earning first place), while Benjamin Barrett and Kimiko Parker used only black, white and yellow tape to create a miniature piano, complete with sheet music on the stand. That was good enough for second place.
"We like art and being able to express ourselves," Walker said. "The duct tape was much easier to work with than we originally thought. The flexibility allowed us to pull off our idea."
Nearby, Jonathan Fone and Jeff Onsrud created a deserted island display, complete with a palm tree, and Isaac Weinstraub replicated a still life artwork with crumpled balls of duct tape being used as three apples, a pear, a banana and several grapes in a bowl.
“I think creativity and engineering go hand-in-hand. We need to develop our creative skills,” Fone stated.
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| By The Numbers: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology student Isaac Weinstraub took advantage of a recent Sidewalk Art Day to recite the numerical equivalent of “pi” on sidewalks throughout campus -- taking over six hours. |
Steve Letsinger, coordinator of arts programming, agrees, stating: "I want Rose-Hulman students to look at the world more closely and appreciate what's happening around them. Most of our students are very creative. They just need more opportunities to express those interests."
In another artistic event, Weinstraub took advantage of a Sidewalk Art Day this fall to recite the numerical equivalent of “pi” in one continuous chalk number line throughout campus -- a process that took over six hours. The ordeal attracted interested students, faculty and staff members along the way.
"I started with a simple principle and couldn't stop adding to the end of the formula," stated Weinstraub, who experienced sore knees and scrapped knuckles and fingertips during the process. "I do things for fun and I don't have a reason for many of the things I do."
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| Art Contest Winners: Earning honors in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Diversity Art Contest were (front row, from left) Kenny Hurst, Simon Leavitt and Ely Spears. Judges (back row) were Caroline Carvill, head of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Steve Letsinger, coordinator of arts programming. |
Musically-talented students are members of Rose-Hulman's chorus, men's ensemble, concert band, jazz band and strings ensemble. Membership in each group has increased this year, according to Bunny Nash, Rose-Hulman's director of student performing arts. The college also offers a humanities course in music appreciation.
Elsewhere, the creative photographic montage “The Last Supper”, created by Kenny Hurst, and poems by Simon Leavitt and Ely Spears earned first place honors in this year’s “Diversity Matters” Art & Poetry Competition that was part of events honoring Martin Luther King Jr. The montage featured pictures of 12 students in a recreation of Leonardo da Vinci's famed mural that represents the scene of The Last Supper from the final days of Jesus, as depicted in the Bible. However, Hurst's version shows students eating different forms of meals from Terre Haute fast food restaurants.
Spears’ poem was titled “The Adventures of a One-Armed Protestor” while Leavitt’s was titled “Strangers on a Street.”
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