Art in the Classroom

The Art in the Classroom project represents one of the Visual Arts Committee's largest and most successful initiatives. Through a combination of University funds and private donations, artworks are installed in large classrooms and lecture halls in order to reach the highest number of students. Each year since 1985, the Visual Arts Committee sponsors a state-wide competition gathering resumes and slides of work from Indiana artists. Finalists visit potential sites at Purdue in order to prepare proposals. A jury composed of both donors and committee members commissions one or two works from the final proposals. The number of works selected will depend on the donation levels and artist's compensation.

Interested donors should see the V.A.C. donations page for more information on sponsoring Art in the Classroom projects.

Installations of Art in the Classroom

The images below represent a small sampling of works installed by the Visual Arts Committee since 1985. Click on an image to see a larger version of the work.

Fran Lacy, Wabash Intervals (1989)
five panels of homemade paper
Knoy Hall of Technology, Room B33
"The medium is fluid, the Wabash River is fluid, and I wanted to push a fluid movement of sheets of paper across the wall."
Thom Maltbie, Untitled (1987)
three clay pieces
Lynn Hall of Veterinary Medicine, Room 31
"Inherent in the philosophy of these pieces is the sense of movement of an object through some kind of path; sometimes fully visible and sometimes partially obscured."
Martha Donovann Opdahl, Peruvian Lattice (1988)
woven fabric
Materials and Electrical Engineering Building
"My images represent life's spontaneity, randomness, and lyricism as well as its constraints, predictability, and order."
Edit Hepp, Homage to Szenigyorgy (1992)
mixed media on cavas
Pharmacy Building Room 172
"I am a colorist. I rely on my palette to create a pulsing, intangible world of ever-changing shapes."