The Murals of Appleby Hall, Pat James' legacy at the U
As Pat James, Professor, enters retirement, we invite you to celebrate her legacy: The Murals of Appleby Hall. These six large-scale works, created between 1996 and 2007 by students in Pat James’ PsTL 1481 Creativity Art Laboratory classes, can be seen in the hallways and classrooms of Appleby Hall. For each mural, with Pat’s direction, students worked together to develop a theme, design the composition, and then complete the mural.
Pat James, whom some of her colleagues consider the “best kept secret” in PsTL, came to the University in 1988 as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Art Education Program in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education. She joined GC/PsTL in 1993 as a Teaching Specialists and remained with us until her retirement as an Associate Professor in 2008. Over her teaching career, she has received multiple awards including the prestigious Morse Alumni Teaching Award in 2007. Reflecting on her teaching philosophy when she received the Morse Award, she emphasized that “Teaching cultural diversity is not merely a matter of including content that represents diverse cultures, it is also a matter of using students’ diverse knowledge as part of the process of teaching and learning.” With that approach, she guided students not only to discover art but also to discover themselves and their unique possibilities for relating to diverse people and cultures.
Perhaps the best testament to Pat’s ability to nurture students’ expression of their own insights is seen in the Creativity Art Lab murals, which continually inspire discussion, thought and reflection among faculty, staff, students and visitors to Appleby Hall. Five of the murals are in Appleby Hall and the sixth, which was commissioned by the Dean of the College of Education is located on the first floor of Burton Hall. Each mural is described below. To view a mural, click on the title below, or see them in person by visiting Appleby Hall. Pat will have moved on to her new home in rural Nebraska, but the murals she helped her students create will remain.
"Growth":
This is the first mural created by students in the Creativity Art Lab
and was made in Spring, 1996. This mural represents the connection between
people, peace, our planet, and the pursuit of knowledge. It is located
on the 2nd floor, around the corner from 201 ApH where it was created.
"Puzzle
of Learning" was created in Winter, 1997. The puzzle pieces in this
mural represent each student’s interpretation of the learning process.
This mural is located by the PsTL departmental office, 140 Appleby Hall.
Note that the mural begins on the outside wall of 140 and continues
into 140.
"I
Am the Mississippi River" was created in Fall, 1999. This mural includes
poems written by the students who participated in creating it and is
located on the 3rd floor adjacent to the PsTL Human Anatomy and Biology
labs.
"Portraits
of Ourselves" was created in Fall, 2000. It represents some of the feelings
our students experience daily. Each portrait was painted by another
student. This mural is located on the ground floor by the north entrance
of the building.
"Face
to Face" was created by students in the Multicultural Learning Community
in Fall, 2004. This mural embraces the diversity of the PsTL student
body and expresses their concern about the world. This mural is located
in 227 ApH, one of the University’s writing labs.
"The
CEHD Mission" was created in Fall 2007. This mural was commissioned
by the Dean of the College of Education and Human Development and portrays
with hands the multicultural and multidisciplinary mission of CEHD.
This mural is located on the first floor in Burton Hall.
Thank you to Justin Evidon for photographing and editing the murals. Thank you also to the CEHD Web Design team for their photo editing and PsTL faculty Barb Hodne and Dan Detzner for their contributions to writing this piece.