'A good way to spend a Saturday': Honors Program goes to Detroit Institute of Arts
The honors students at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Feb. 25 see the Detroit Industry Mural by Diego Rivera on the second level of the museum.
Liv O'Tool is a sophomore in the honors program at Central Michigan University. While she was at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Feb. 25, she was exposed to new forms of art and learned more about herself in the process.
“I definitely learned more about what my preferences are in terms of art,” O’Tool said. “I thought this was a good way to spend a Saturday."
O'Tool signed up for the trip because she thought it would be fun, and she brought her roommate along too. She said she’s been to the DIA before, but appreciated it more now that she’s older.
O'Tool is one of 35 honors students who took a bus ride to the DIA Saturday morning to learn more about the art, themselves and each other.
The DIA website describes the museum as attempting to be a gathering place for the community and to create individual and group experiences for visitors.
Zachary Evans is the coordinator for the honors program, and he worked with Interim Honors Program Director Patricia Williamson and Office Manager Angela Banker to put the trip together.
“I want folks in the honors program to think about their time as continuous,” Evans said.
He said he wanted students on the trip to learn about art and culture and the contributions they can make to the world after graduation, setting students up to be good people outside the world of academics.
“We’re working on breaking down the ivory tower of higher education,” Evans said.
O’Tool said the Dutch exhibit was her favorite part, and described a windmill painting with developed lighting that looked impressively realistic.
The painting she was referring to was part of a larger collection of Dutch artwork from the Golden Era, which had portraits, depictions of everyday life and nature scenes.
Another large collection reflects the work of various Native American tribes around the country, with glass beaded clothing and pottery. The Native American exhibit also provided information on how art forms like making masks and wooden dolls have changed and are still part of indigenous cultures.
Calvin Older is a junior in the honors program, who said he enjoys going to art museums in his free time. He’s already been to art museums in Chicago and Indianapolis.
Not only was the Detroit trip an opportunity to see the art, but Older said it was also a welcome break.
“I do like art museums, but also it was definitely time for me to get out of mid-Michigan for a bit,” Older said.
He said he appreciated the medieval artwork collection and the way they displayed the chapel architecture like the viewer is actually in a chapel. But the Islamic exhibit was interesting, as well.
“I enjoyed seeing the calligraphy in the Islamic exhibit,” Older said.
The modern art exhibit on the second level highlighted art from Black artists for Black History Month. One painting specifically forced viewers to consider violence and police brutality against Black and minority communities with a depiction of a Black mother holding two small children- but the two children had literally been cut from the canvas.
Evans said that the industrial murals highlighting Detroit stood out to him as someone from the Detroit area.
“(It’s about) thinking about Michigan as a key part of the country,” Evans said.
For Evans, he said the mural made him think about honoring industry and paying homage to it, while also understanding the consequences in areas like equity and justice.
Evans said that this trip was part of an effort by the honors program administration to bring students together.
“We had really been focused on building the honors community after the pandemic,” Evans said.
He also said that the honors program has other trips planned for cultural immersion and community building this semester including a visit to the Ziibiwing Center and hosting a charity ball.
