A new giant mural, installed in Palmer Commons and visible from Washtenaw Avenue (near the corner of Washtenaw and Huron) created by eleven U-M students will be officially unveiled at Palmer Commons on Wednesday evening, January 25th at 7pm.

The public is invited to come celebrate with the student artists who will talk about their work prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony which will take place in Forum Hall auditorium on the fourth floor of Palmer Commons adjacent to where the mural has been installed.

The mural, (approximately 17 feet high by 78 feet long) which features the LSA theme "Language: The Human Quintessence", was created by non-art majors taking an "Art in Public Spaces/Big Paintings" course taught this past fall by Mark Tucker, Art Director for the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program.

Mark Tucker, Art Director for the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program and founder of the popular local event FestiFools, invited students to design and create a 1,235-square foot mural this past fall. This mural is now installed in the 4th Floor Atrium at Palmer Commons, a location visible from many positions both inside and outside the building. In designing the mural, students were guided by the theme of language—particularly visual language. The title of the resulting mural, "Language: The Human Quintessence" reflects this focus, and represents an important creative and visually striking element of the LSA Theme Semester.

Ten of the eleven student artists are first year students. This exciting mural project was created in their first semester at the university as part of a hands-on way to more intimately understand the value of creating and exhibiting artwork designed for a public setting.

The official unveiling of the mural, which takes place at Palmer Commons on Wednesday, January 25 from 7-8:00 pm, offers an opportunity to be among the first to admire this exciting artwork up close and hear the artists talk about the process of creating it.

Palmer Commons, a gathering spot at the heart of the Central and Medical Campus, has become an essential site for meetings and events, from formal academic talks to informal student study groups.

For further information about this unique project, please go to artpublicspaces.blogspot.com, and/or contact: Mark Tucker
Art Director/Lecturer
Lloyd Hall Scholars Program
University of Michigan
marktuck@umich.edu
Studio: 734.763.7550
Cell: 734.660.2122

The mural is Located on the fourth floor in the south atrium lobby of Palmer Commons. (For directions to Palmer Commons please go to http://palmercommons.umich.edu/directions/)