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- William Paterson University
Designed for the Arts
by Mary Beth Zeman
From the outside, the building is unassuming, an ordinary one-story facility tucked in a small industrial complex just across the street from the University's main administrative offices.
But inside is another matter. Down one long hallway, students outfitted with goggles, saws, and drills labor to turn pieces of wood into works of art. Down another, photographers hone their skills in the fine art of developing. At the back of the building, sunlight streams in on colorful paintings that fill the walls and even the floor.
The former manufacturing plant, reborn as the Power Art Center, is William Paterson's new home for the studio arts. The spacious 42,600-square-foot facility, situated on nearly eight acres of property, provides a state-of-the-art environment and new creative opportun-ities for students and faculty alike.
"The
scale of the facility is so conducive to work it's a serious
space," says Joseph Van Putten, an assistant professor of
art and William Paterson graduate with bachelor's and master's
degrees in art. "It has completely rejuvenated my enthusiasm
for teaching."
Students are also enjoying this new setting for making art. "There's space to try projects I wouldn't have attempted in Ben Shahn," says Arlene Kaczka, a junior from Kearny, gesturing to the large mixed media work she is creating in the airy painting studio, bathed in natural light via highly placed windows.
"Our goal is, and has been, to provide William Paterson students with the education they require to become professional artists," says Ofelia Garcia, dean of the University's College of the Arts and Communication. "Now, we have a professional facility that rivals or surpasses those at many other art schools."
Soaring 15-foot-high ceilings, exposed pipes and ductwork, and cement floors provide continuity between the building's industrial past and its artistic present and future. A soothing palette of neutrals white, black, grey, and steel blue on the walls and floors serve as the perfect backdrop for the colorful art now beginning to fill every nook and cranny.
"Art is a messy business," admits Garcia. "Our challenge was to design a visually attractive and yet industrial space with appropriate room for each of the various artistic media."
Power Art, which marks the first expansion for the Art Department since Ben Shahn Hall opened in 1967, virtually doubles the department's physical size. Studios for painting, sculpture, ceramics, woodworking, furniture design, printmaking, and photography have been relocated to the new facility. The result is a facility that provides expanded space for the variety of studio arts now situated there.
Printmaking, once confined to a single room in Ben Shahn, occupies a studio tripled in size, with separate areas for etching, lithography, and silkscreening, as well as smaller spaces devoted to works created with specific chemicals. The photography complex contains two extensive darkroom suites one for beginning and intermediate students, another for advanced students and a large photo studio where students can study studio lighting and gain experience in still life, portraiture, and fashion photography.
Woodworking, furniture design, sculpture, and ceramics, previously situated on different floors, now occupy adjacent areas on one side of Power Art, while spacious painting and drawing studios line the rear of the building.
Each of the studio spaces contains state-of-the-art technology for ventilation and climate control required by current environmental guidelines.
Unifying the areas designated for the various media is a central, 1,500-square-foot gallery space, designed as a showcase for student work, including thesis shows by graduate students and a recent exhibit of works by northern New Jersey high school students.
The building's design, particularly the open space, provides a benefit. "With a lot of classes being held simultaneously in adjacent areas, students can share ideas and gain inspiration from each other," remarks senior Gaetano Ruvio of North Haledon.
For Van Putten, who teaches woodworking in Power Art, the imminent move of the scene shop, which supports the University's theatrical productions, into the building from its previous location in Hunziker Hall, will provide enhanced opportunities for collaboration. "Art students can now participate in set design and construction for theatrical productions on campus, and the students involved in those projects can benefit from an artistic perspective," he explains.
The addition of Power Art provides "an opportunity to enhance all of the Art Department's offerings," explains Charles Magistro, department chair. "With the relocation of studio space, we can now expand our programs in graphic design, computer graphics, and art history, which remain in Ben Shahn Hall." Plans also call for the enlargement of the Ben Shahn Galleries to include a dedicated area for the University's recently acquired permanent collections of African art and artists' books.
The new building also supports William Paterson's new master's degree in fine arts, slated to begin in Fall 2000 (see sidebar). Graduate students enrolled in the program will be assigned individual work spaces in Power Art, allowing them to pursue the long-term projects required by the degree program.
"We are tremendously excited about the visibility this new facility gives to the arts at William Paterson," says Garcia. "We plan to do great things." WP
