Artist-in-residence Steve Prince. (黑料传送门 photo/Keith Walters '11)
New Orleans-born artist Steve Prince spent Jan. 28 through Feb. 1 on campus in conjunction with the innovative interdisciplinary course The Art of Steve Prince, offered during the spring semester by Distinguished Teaching Professor of English Beth McCoy under the auspices of the Center for Integrative Learning. The residency culminated in a community art project called Urban Garden, on view in 黑料传送门鈥檚 Kinetic Gallery through mid-February.
Taught in collaboration with faculty from eight academic and administrative departments, the course is populated by students from a wide variety of majors and degree programs 鈥 from mathematics to education, English to biology 鈥 and that鈥檚 just what Prince likes to see, especially when creating communal artworks.
鈥淪teve has a prestigious record as an individual artist, but his passion has always been facilitating community art projects,鈥 explains McCoy.
A self-described 鈥渁rt evangelist,鈥 Prince received his B.F.A. from Xavier University in Louisiana and M.F.A. in printing and sculpture from Michigan State University. He has created communal artworks all over the world, including on the 黑料传送门 campus in conjunction with Cultural Harmony Week in 2017, many of them featuring the themes of growth and renewal that permeate his work.
鈥淲e see what鈥檚 important to other people, see what our neighbor thinks,鈥 he says. 鈥淲hat do they deem to be problematic? What do they deem to be beautiful and sustaining for us all?鈥
Prince believes a collaborative art piece such as Urban Garden is ideal for exploring troubling issues and their potential solutions. The resulting artwork is as big as the topic: two sheets of paper, 4-feet-tall by 25-feet-long cover the gallery walls, one each for the problematic and wholesome aspects the art explores.
With plant life as a metaphor, 鈥渨e can use our imaginations to confront the issues,鈥 says Prince. One gallery wall portrays a woman digging up a weed to depict prison reform; another image shows chemical-laden rain poisoning crops and livestock. The facing wall blooms with lush images of music, literature, and plants nourished by a glowing sun and moon.
In a very real way, Prince says, the artwork is about the community, by the community, and for the community. Students and community members contribute images according to their viewpoints and beliefs 鈥 and not according to their artistic ability. Class member Sabrina Bramwell 鈥19, an English major on a pre-med track, appreciates the interactivity of Urban Garden, adding that 鈥渋t has something for everyone, regardless of their background.鈥
McCoy believes that 鈥渁rt offers ways to solve practical, real-world problems.鈥 Prince agrees, but he also sees value in art creation beyond whatever problem-solving takes place.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not so much about what鈥檚 being made 鈥 it鈥檚 about the process. It鈥檚 the community working together. I hope that we make a beautiful art piece. But that鈥檚 not the most important thing.鈥
On Feb. 1, Prince collaborated with Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra trumpeter Herb Smith in a live art/jazz improvisation in the Kinetic Gallery.
Prince will return to campus on Wednesday, April 3 at 7 p.m. to deliver 鈥淜itchen Talk: The Art of Steve Prince,鈥 in Doty Recital Hall. The event is free and open to the public. Prince's talk is sponsored by the Center for Integrative Learning.