This is the logo for our team (OC Scavengers). The magnifying glass represents our ability to find significant Grand Valley landmarks that have a purpose or have some meaning behind them. The person in the middle of the magnifying glass represents our ability to delve deep into the history of each artist that has created a significant art piece at GV. It also represents how we are constantly looking for people to reach out to about the positive aspects of Grand Valley State University in order to attract people to our school. We are called the OC Scavengers because we thought it would be a good idea to directly state our purpose so that it will be easier for people to understand.
This statue is located in the front entrance of the GVSU Library on the Allendale Campus. The statue is titled “Ex Nihilo” (Out of Nothing) created by Frederick Hart. It comes from the Washington National Cathedral. Hart worked on this statue for 3 years and won a competition for the best representation of this artwork on the west side of the cathedral. This statue is a GVSU icon because the artist once said “art must be a part of life and must exist in the domain of the common man.” Henry Matthews, Grand Valley’s director of Galleries and Collections agreed with this statement and thought it would be a good idea to represent the school’s tradition of supporting the arts through this statue.
This is the Cook Carillon Tower located on the GVSU Allendale campus built in 1994. Peter C. and Pat Cook generously donated to build this 10-story tall clock tower. The largest bell inside the clock tower weighs about 3,000 pounds and the smallest bell is only 14 pounds. This is a GVSU icon because it is a central focal point on the Allendale campus and represents the middle of the entire campus. We are standing in front of GVSU’s most feared art structure: the Transformational Link. It is located next to Zumberge Hall and Au Sable hall. This structure was created by Gary Kulak in 1990 made out of blue painted steel. It is 40 feet tall and 20 feet wide. This is a GVSU icon because it revolves around one of the greatest myths that lingers among students who attend the university. The myth is this: if you walk under the Transformational Link going towards north campus, your GPA will diminish or you will fail out of college. There have been petitions made to take down this structure, as some people believe that this myth is true and that it is detrimental towards all Lakers. Behind us is the structure titled “Heaven and Earth” created by James Clover in 1990. It is located just past the transformational link, next to Zumberge Hall. It is made of white painted steel. Clover also has many other sculptures around Grand Valley campuses. This is a GVSU icon because it involves the symbol of the students desperately trying to get out of working minimum wage jobs and reach a more likable position that reaches high above the stars. I chose the painted rock as my favorite GVSU artwork because it changes almost every week! I live in Johnson Living Center which is located right in front of this painted rock, so I pass it each time I go to class. It is entertaining to me because I get to see which sorority, club, or organization painted it and how they painted it. This week the rock happened to be a purple and yellow color, painted by a sorority represented by Grand Valley. Even though there is not a creator of this rock, I believe it is a great way for GVSU Lakers to express their creativity, artists or not! I modified this image by making the colors of the rock pop out to be more of a darker purple, as it better represents how it actually looks on campus sitting next to the dull, brown color of the traditional dorm rooms. It gives this part of campus more of a color pop.Olivia and I are doing the Quidditching meme. This meme represents the characters flying on a broom in the Harry Potter series. This is also a real sport played with a broom in between one’s legs and a ball. We are doing the Vadering Meme in this picture. This meme mimics the scenes in Star Wars where Darth Vader uses Force to grab someone that he is enemies with or someone who has frustrated him. I recreated the Kermit the Frog meme. This meme represents when your alter ego tells you to do something bad, while you know what is true. An example being, “start your homework at 7” and then your alter ego says, “or go to sleep and start the homework at 8.”This is one of my favorite memes because it involves a lot of sarcasm and relates to a lot of teenage problems. I like how it expresses major confusion. This is a Brazilian actress named Renata Sorrah. She played Tedesco in “Senhora do Destino”. This is a great representation of internet culture because it involves a lot of memes which relate to the confusion of certain subjects in school. This shows the age demographics of most social media websites and pertains to a lot of students. I think memes are important because it keeps us engaged on social media in a comical and entertaining way.
The infographic here shows that last year (2018), $26 million were raised by over 14,000 donors. This was mostly due to the Laker Effect campaign, which had multiple goals in mind. One of the goals was to double the amount of scholarships given to students. I was impressed by the amount of scholarships they are offering now, as they had just added 36 new scholarships to get the number to 515 scholarships in total.
I also enjoyed reading about the expansion of the GVSU health campus. They had raised enough money to open Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall for classes. This will allow for more opportunity and programs for students going into the medical field. They also would like to change the Innovation Design Center for Engineering.
Screenshot from: https://www.gvsu.edu/giving/ar2018/I love how Grand Valley State University values art and the well being of their students. I always feel that I am being taken care of and I have never felt as if I was in danger on this campus. I have only had good experiences here and I am planning on expanding my horizons and getting out of my comfort zone a bit so that I can experience more. I am a Laker for Lifetime because I am planning on getting a degree in Film & Video and Advertising & Public Relations at Grand Valley. I am only a freshmen but I am looking forward to graduation because I know my school will set me on a good path and steer me in the right direction. Whether that is helping me find a job or giving me an idea on how I want my future to look.
clarequirin 