A Group of BYU Art Students Traveled to Los Angeles to Compile an Art Piece Centered on Finding Common Ground
What does it mean to find common ground with those around us? For some, it is connecting with strangers at a gas station. For others, it is bonding over a recipe with close family members and friends. These, along with dozens of other interpretations of common ground, could be seen in the Los Angeles Temple Visitors’ Center for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Consul General of Senegal’s 9th Annual International Women-In-Diplomacy Day event.
On March 10, assistant professor Madeline Rupard brought a group of art students to this event hosted by the Consul General of Senegal. The visitors’ center in L.A. is available for groups to use for events promoting peace and diplomatic relations. Through this shared use of the visitors’ center space, connections between the Church and countries around the world are strengthened; for instance, Mame Toucouleur Mbaye — the Consul of Senegal in Los Angeles— and Relief Society General President Camille Johnson have developed a strong friendship and President Johnson was asked to speak at Mbaye’s event for international diplomats.
In conjunction with this conference, the Department of Art decided to make an interactive mural out of mylar (a strong, see-through plastic) based on the event’s theme: “Common Ground.” Rupard started this mural in her class, Approaches to Artmaking (ART 226), and then transported it to Los Angeles so attendees of the International Women-In-Diplomacy Day could add their own experiences to the project.
Art education student Debby Nava was ecstatic to join Rupard in Los Angeles to create and install this mylar drawing. She was impressed by the team’s unique objective to be general in their representations of connection. “If you are too specific, then you leave out other people,” Nava explained. “The objective of the mural was to represent the theme globally and get engagement with the conference itself. For me, the main excitement was seeing people engage and helping facilitate their participation.”
After spending two days in the visitors’ center, Nava said that she found a new appreciation for these spaces that bring people together: “It was really great to learn more about what goes on in the visitors’ center and see how we can connect with people all over the world.”
Rupard likewise celebrated the mural’s success in its mission to bring people from different walks of life together. “It was cool to see how the artwork activated people and got them talking to each other,” Rupard said. “Art is a connector.” Because this clear mural was hung on a glass wall and suddenly visible from all angles, it drew in numerous passersby. It was a pleasant (and serendipitous) surprise for all participants.
In her own interpretation of common ground, Rupard drew a gas station because “it's a place where we meet to refuel and meet strangers in a shared space.” Others drew airplanes, tree roots and nature walks, covering the mural with the specific, shared experiences that human beings encounter. “It became a living document that kept changing,” Rupard said.
In reflecting on the “Common Ground” theme, Nava looked back on her own experience of finding belonging at BYU. At times, Nava felt disconnected from her peers at BYU, until she realized that they have one powerful common denominator: “We are all connected by Christ.” Just like everyone has a different understanding of common ground, Nava shared that “one person’s connection to Christ is very much different than another person's connection to Him — but everybody has something to contribute.”