Art has been a part of human culture since the beginning of time. Starting as rudimentary paintings on cave walls, to today’s high tech computer designs. Art is a common thread all humans share in some way. For example, speaking the native Italian language of artist Leonardo DaVinci, is not required to see the mystery of Mona Lisa’s smile. A person doesn’t have to be of a certain religion to admire the beauty of Michelangelo’s murals in the Sistine Chapel. Art brings people together regardless of their race, religion and cultural backgrounds. Just a couple years ago this concept wasn’t apparent on the University of Arkansas Fort Smith(UAFS) campus. The art department was spread between five different facilities, giving the impression that
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According to UAFS student Jeff Jedlicka,“As a graphic design student, I’ve had to take art classes in Ballman-Speer, art history classes in Breedlove and Flanders, design classes in [the] Baldor [Technology Center], and I’ve worked on letterpress projects in the Gardner building.” (John Post). The Windgate foundation helped solve this problem by providing a $15.5 million dollar grant to UAFS, for the construction of a 58,000 square-foot building, with enough classrooms to house the entire art department(foundation.uafs.edu). The building is appropriately named, the Windgate Art and Design Building. The design concept of The Windgate Art and Design Building exemplifies the importance of art inside and out, while incorporating works of art produced by the students of UAFS and other professional artists in such a way to be an inspiration to the students of UAFS for many future …show more content…
When ascending the staircase to explore all the building has to offer, one might notice when reaching the top floor that the stairs continue on, as if to imply the inspirational message of, only the sky is the limit for the students at UAFS. The ever ascending stairs serve beyond the typical function of getting to the next floor in other ways. On the right side of the extra wide staircase, every other step is missing, creating a unique, stadium styled place to sit and take in the views. In addition, these missing steps give the staircase the illusion of different textures, as found throughout the rest of the building. Each level of the Windgate Art and Design Building contains state of the art classrooms with student artwork lining the halls. The classrooms have large windows looking into them to give people exploring the building a chance to see art in progress. Without exception, every floor of the building supports the artistic process in every detail of the
According to UAFS student Jeff Jedlicka,“As a graphic design student, I’ve had to take art classes in Ballman-Speer, art history classes in Breedlove and Flanders, design classes in [the] Baldor [Technology Center], and I’ve worked on letterpress projects in the Gardner building.” (John Post). The Windgate foundation helped solve this problem by providing a $15.5 million dollar grant to UAFS, for the construction of a 58,000 square-foot building, with enough classrooms to house the entire art department(foundation.uafs.edu). The building is appropriately named, the Windgate Art and Design Building. The design concept of The Windgate Art and Design Building exemplifies the importance of art inside and out, while incorporating works of art produced by the students of UAFS and other professional artists in such a way to be an inspiration to the students of UAFS for many future …show more content…
When ascending the staircase to explore all the building has to offer, one might notice when reaching the top floor that the stairs continue on, as if to imply the inspirational message of, only the sky is the limit for the students at UAFS. The ever ascending stairs serve beyond the typical function of getting to the next floor in other ways. On the right side of the extra wide staircase, every other step is missing, creating a unique, stadium styled place to sit and take in the views. In addition, these missing steps give the staircase the illusion of different textures, as found throughout the rest of the building. Each level of the Windgate Art and Design Building contains state of the art classrooms with student artwork lining the halls. The classrooms have large windows looking into them to give people exploring the building a chance to see art in progress. Without exception, every floor of the building supports the artistic process in every detail of the