By Mercedes Binh Ly

Reprinted from the Ashland Daily Tidings (October 7, 2000)

Southern Oregon University students are raving about the completed Marion Ady Building, one of two new buildings that make up the Center for the Visual Arts on the Southern Oregon University campus.

The other buildings include the Schneider Museum of Art, Art East and the Art Building, also a new structure under construction.

Drawing and painting classes are the only art classes in session on the second level of the Marion Ady Building. Photography classes are scheduled to move into the lower level of the building next term.

"I think it's beautiful. It's a great facility. I took my classes in Taylor Hall last year and the rooms were crowded. These are really nice rooms. It's very artsy in there," said 21-year-old sophomore Amanda Pfisterer from Fairbanks, Alaska.

Pfisterer, who referred to the Ady building as "the fortress of art," said that although the building comes off as a little cold, she enjoys the window space in the drawing studio.

"I don't think an art building should have a lot of decorations in it because it takes away from what the artists are creating inside," she said. "I personally like to work in bare rooms because it helps me focus on what I'm working on."

Pfisterer said as an art major, it's reassuring to see efforts to build such facilities.

"I like the quality of the area because it is very dedicated to the arts. It (the CVA) fits well into Ashland and the art community we have here," she said.

Jessica Steffens, 26, a first-year SOU student working toward her second bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, said the arts center played a role in her choosing to attend the university.

"I decided to come back to school and the new architecture made my decision to go to school in Ashland versus some other place easier," Steffens said. "I like the structures inside. It's very simple and industrial. It kind of motivates you in some way."

Steffens believes the understated nature of the building allows students to create their own art, and she appreciates the natural light that gets filtered through the building's large windows.

"As an artist you can't just be in a room, you have to extend yourself outside of everything. And the windows allow you to do that," she said.

Steffens' only complaint about the center is that it remains incomplete. Nevertheless, she said she's fortunate to be enrolled at the university.

"I happened to decide to go back to school at the right time," she said.

Post-baccalaureate art student, Aaron Frohnmayer, 28, said he transferred to SOU from the California College of Arts and Crafts because of the arts center and the fact that it is located in Oregon.

"The CVA is one of the reasons why I came here. It's really beautiful space to work in, especially for painting," Frohnmayer said.

Frohnmayer believes the arts center will attract art students to SOU who never would have considered the university in the first place.

"If Southern Oregon wants to develop a university which is the premier of visual arts universities in the state system, then it is critical to have the facilities to support future art students," he said.

A series of events will lead up to the grand opening of the arts center, scheduled for Oct. 20.

Featured events included a light show exhibition outside the arts center Friday night, and one scheduled for Saturday night at 7:30 where the images of classic art will be cast on the exterior of the buildings, which will be visible from Siskiyou Boulevard.

Nine-, 10-, and 11-foot-tall sonotubes used to mold concrete cylinders for freeway overpasses will be painted with bright festive colors from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Art East Sculpture Studio today and Sunday, located on the corner of Siskiyou and Indiana streets.

"We're planning to create decorative totem poles for the CVA. Regional artists, designers, art educators and children will transform the gray drab sonotubes with festive, colorful designs which will help to create a joyful atmosphere for the grand opening celebration," said Lynn Blanche, a local designer, who co-coordinated the project with artist Judy Howard.

Blanche was involved in a similar sonotube project which was displayed at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

"Every person we contacted to get involved in helping with the preparation for the grand opening has offered enthusiasm and support. We have a diverse group of people joining us this weekend to help create the environmental elements for the grand opening," she said.

The community is invited to view the artwork in progress. The finished sculptures will be on display at the CVA Grand Opening Celebration.

Ashland Daily Tidings
1661 Siskiyou Boulevard, P. O. Box 7
Ashland OR 97520
(541) 482-3456 ~ www.dailytidings.com