By Adam Stout

Guest Writer

A freshman guy at Calvin walks through the main entrance of the FAC for the first time. He looks up. ``What is that thing?''

A junior girl visits the basement of RVD and wonders, ``Were these pictures on the wall hung by the same person who decorated Best Western Hotels in the 1980s?''

For Calvin students and staff, the previous questions probably beg larger questions and answers. For instance, how is the placement of art around campus determined? Who is our interior or exterior decorator, anyway?

For the most part, students were art-conscious and able to point out positive aspects of the pieces displayed around campus. Several students mentioned enjoying the K-12 art exhibit that takes place annually in the FAC. Other favorite pieces ranged from the portrait of John Calvin outside the Meeter Center, to ``the three men in the Hekman Library stairwell,'' to photos of families around the world with their possessions--hanging in a classroom in the basement of North Hall.

While there were positives, the majority of art-conscious students offered more criticism than praise.

Junior Mark Bogertman said, ``The art here is abstract. I don't find a lot I can relate to.''

Several art students complained that the Miró paintings in Johnny's depicted genetalia. They considered the display (which has been up for several years) to be generally phallic and somewhat inconsistent with the college's call to renewal of all things. Others leveled criticisms based largely on personal preference, although the topics of ``outdated work'' and obscure placement surfaced several times.

Other art-conscious students said that they did not have much of an opinion on the artwork they could see. They were concerned with the lack of art.

``What art?'' asked sophomore Pellagia Muliba. ``There is no artwork on campus, really.'' Muliba claimed the arts were neglected besides a few select pieces like ``the flying dog in the FAC.''

Senior Grant Smith, a tour guide, echoed this by saying, ``I wish there was more visible artwork. I don't want to go down to the basement every time I want to see good art. For example, in the FAC, besides that flying dragon thing, there isn't a lot of quality art. Quality art is something you might expect to find in someplace called `the fine arts center.'''

A large percentage of students claimed that they were unaware of the art around them. In every instance, however, upon a few moments of reflection, they could think of at least a piece or two.

Furthermore, among those that claimed to be oblivious to art, some disproved this by noticing changes in environment.

One such student said, ``I'm not a good person to ask about art. Honestly, I don't pay much attention to the art here.'' Then she added, ``If you're doing a story on art around campus, I think you should check out the children's section on the fifth floor of the library; they put a bunch of new paintings up there recently.''

In addition to noticing the new art in the children's section of Hekman, several recalled a painting in the Fish House that changed over a year ago.

However, rotating art or adding art around campus has rarely occurred over the last few years. Senior Lindsey Reed said, ``I notice when art is rearranged or added. But I don't think that has happened very much here.''

Senior art major Christopher Fillipini agreed. ``The artwork in Johnny's hasn't changed since I've been here,'' he said.

It follows, then, to ask: What is the process for getting art placed around this campus? Some departments occasionally fund their own artwork. Photograph displays by professors Bert de Vries and William Van Vugt were paid for by the history department and de Vries' research funds.

Outside of the few department-funded displays, all other pieces come from the permanent collection stored in the basement of Spoelhof. Faculty and staff may request to display these. They must first go through a committee in the art department, however. Barbara Veeneman, a secretary at the Broene Center, requested a picture for one bare wall in the lobby ``that is very cold.'' One and a half years later, she still has not received her picture. So, what happens after a request is submitted? Whom does it go to - Calvin's interior decorator?

All requests go to one woman, Susan Bonner. Bonner clarified her role and said, ``I am not an interior decorator.''

Bonner began working this year as Director of Exhibitions, ``a title that has not been around for the last three years.''

As Bonner's title suggests, her job involves primarily managing the exhibitions and sometimes even advertising for shows. On top of this, any request for art from the permanent collection must go through her, and she is responsible for all the art displays in the new buildings going up across the beltline.

Many complications arise when trying to accommodate requests for artwork. First, finding time is difficult. As mentioned earlier, Bonner's job is primarily to manage exhibitions, not approve artwork. Although she added the bird collection paintings to the fifth floor of the library recently, and currently is picking out a picture for the Broene Center, it is a time-consuming task.

Part of what makes the task time-consuming is that there are no photographic records of the permanent collection (which includes 988 pieces). Bonner must sort through the collection piece by piece, until an appropriate match is found. To speed up this process, Bonner has been taking digital photos of every piece in the collection and adding these pictures to the computer database.

Adding or rotating artwork around campus is also hampered by the lack of pieces in the collection. ``I'm trying to get some more contemporary works,'' Bonner said. She added that money to improve the collection is limited: ``The gallery has a budget, and the money left over after taking shipping, curators and other expenses into account is usually not very much.''

To help overcome some financial obstacles, Bonner plans to put together a board from the exhibitions committee and art faculty to establish ``Friends of the Permanent Collection.'' Bonner hopes this group can start a separate fund and make decicions concerning the placement of art around campus.

Although the basic ``how'' and ``who'' questions concerning art around campus have been briefly answered, it seems that many more questions have been raised. For instance, are we lacking in the amount of art displayed around campus? Does it need to be updated? Although many students criticized art around campus, do they feel strongly enough to push for changes? When is the ``Friends of the Permanent Collection'' going to be fully developed? Why have all the tasks involved with approving all artwork requests become a secondary job for one person? And perhaps most importantly, does anyone know what that flying dog is in the FAC?