JESSICA MEDITZ
Life & Arts Editor
If you’ve stepped foot into University Commons this past week, chances are you’ve come across an oddly artistic-looking structure toward the center of the room.
The piece, titled “Project Question,” is part of a student artist’s class project — who requested to be cited as ML.
ML is a third-year B.F.A. sculpture major at Fredonia, and it’s not the first time he’s brought his art to the university’s public eye.
During the Spring 2019 semester, he installed another interactive art piece in University Commons, which posed the question: “Do you trust University Police?”
The piece quickly became a controversial, hot button topic on Fredonia’s campus and received responses from students of diverse political viewpoints.
Similarly, “Project Question,” a structure composed of steel, cardboard and plywood that stands a few feet tall, reads in large writing, “Is This Art?”
At eye level view lay some pens and paper as well as a slit in the cardboard, intended for students to submit their responses into. Around the cardboard frame are USPS stickers, making the structure resemble a mailbox.
“These are all of the responses from UC so far,” ML said as he pulled a thick stack of papers out of his backpack.
He made it a point to say that he goes through every single response.
Similar to the results of last year’s public piece, ML has received responses both negative and positive.
Without even answering the question, some students were quick to say things such as: “Who the f*** made this?” and “It ain’t gonna pay rent.”
All of the sidetracked responses and paper airplanes aside, ML said he genuinely enjoys reading through every “yes” and “no” response with explanations.
“A lot of the ‘no’ responses are really interesting because they explain why; they explain what art means to them,” he said. “For the ‘yes’ ones, there’s a lot of ‘art is subjective’ responses, like it can be whatever you want it to be. I also got a lot of ‘perhaps’ responses, which is interesting.
”ML said that he plans to post the students’ responses in Rockefeller Arts Center’s Emmitt Christian Gallery, as well as making video documentation of him reading each one.
Sophomore B.F.A. film and video arts major, Matthew Henze, will be filming the project, which will be going into a show that will be announced in early March.
One might assume that because ML took the time to make this piece and pose that question, that he knows all the answers.
“It’s a complicated question, which I’m not even sure I know the answer to,” he said. “I believe that everything is art, and there’s no such thing as good art or bad art. It’s just what people prefer.”
He said that off the top of his head, he would consider his sculpture art because he is an artist and put a great deal of time and effort into it — a few days of planning and six hours of building, to be exact.
Although he spends the majority of his time conceptualizing and creating art, ML said he’s often very impulsive.
“If I see something and I’m like, ‘Ugh, I gotta make an art piece about this,’ I’ll do it,” he said. “I put up these really funny flyers around campus.”
ML takes responsibility for flyers posted around campus that read: “Why pay money for Fredonia’s ice rink? Slip for free on Fredonia’s unsalted roads and paths! (Not paid for by SUNY Fredonia, obviously.)”
ML attributes inspiration for the art he makes to famous artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Shepard Fairey.
It seems as though ML goes about his daily life, notices things and instead of complaining like the rest of us, he expresses his concerns through art in which people can interact.
Whether expressed more politically or comedically, all he hopes to do is elicit some kind of public reaction.
ML said he’s considering moving “Project Question” to Fenton Hall next.
But, honestly, an ML piece could pop up anytime, anywhere on Fredonia’s campus.