Much like the way clothing garners social status for teenagers, the art on the walls speaks volumes about an institution. Bad art reflects poorly on the institution and is disheartening to those who view it every day. Murals fill wall space, provide students and faculty with beauty on sunless days and represent different aspects of our community. There are many murals on the Binghamton University campus, ranging from the good, the “eh” and the ugly.
Around campus, there are many well-intended but poorly realized murals. I can appreciate the time and effort that went into these pieces but I don’t enjoy viewing them. While creating these murals was probably a great bonding experience for the students who painted them years ago, now these eyesores appear less like works of art and more like old jokes that refuse to fade. Some of these painted canvasses, decorated with malformed Disney characters with childishly executed perspective, might have been better left blank.
In the city of Binghamton, initiatives like reBOLD and the Department of Public Art have come together to create murals in the Downtown area, beautifying the city. Intensive planning goes into the creation of these murals and the effort shows. It would be wonderful to see more works of this caliber on campus.
It’s important to note that not every mural needs to be applied with paint. There is a neater means of beautifying walls: decals. The New University Union basement mural featuring BU media outlets is a decal. Art work can be designed digitally and applied to the designated space painlessly, sans spilled paint or other challenges posed by larger-scale works.
There already are a number of well-realized murals on campus, though many are not in the public view. The recently founded BU Fine Arts Society has already worked with several student groups to create murals for lounges. Gorgeous murals created in the ’80s decorate the Binghamton Sound, Staging and Lighting office and uninhabited Old Dickinson Community. The recent Mountainview College mural is an example of aesthetically pleasing student art in an accessible public place. More so, the Mountainview mural came to fruition through hard work and planning through a petition process. Clearly, the success of the Mountainview mural illustrates that the student body demands more art.
Given the tendency of Binghamton winters toward grayness, murals and wall art might be the only colors student see for months. An exaggeration maybe, but not by too long a shot. In addition to providing some much-needed color, art makes people happier. A study by Semir Zeki, a professor at University College London, shows that viewing art triggers a dopamine surge in the brain. Dopamine is one of the neurotransmitters associated with good feelings, aka happiness.
Viewing beautiful things does good things for our brains, which, as stressed out students, need every boost they can get.
The benefits of more and better public art are twofold. Murals are something for students to enjoy in their daily commutes and take pride in. Murals can positively represent the school and are also an excellent way for visitors, whether prospective students or otherwise, to get a sense of campus culture.