More colour please

Maybe it’s been the depression of a Winnipeg winter that’s made me realize this, or perhaps my eyes are just growing tired of a constant orange glow, but the décor of the University of Winnipeg is horrid.

The school is in dire need of a paint job, and looks like it has been for a decade. The outdated colours and design speak levels about our university… why is it that we’re working so hard to improve the outer appearance of our school when the students inside must endure a Cheez Whiz interior?

In 2006, the university spent $7.5 million on renovating the exterior of Wesley Hall, after which the administrative offices (including Lloyd Axworthy’s) were relocated to.

The university often uses Wesley Hall to attract both local and international students, and it’s only after they apply do students realize they won’t have any classes in the grand “castle” building. 

Recently, artist Rodney LaTourelle has done an installation project on the Centennial-Duckworth Hallway, basically changing the usually orange diagonal beams on the walls to bright colors.

Initially I thought this was a part of the university’s rejuvenation plan, and felt happy that the university was finally doing something about the ugliness inside. The installation is called “Chronochroma 6” and is thankfully permanent.

Roewan Crowe of the Univeristy of Winnipeg Faculty Association believes the colours have mood altering characteristics. 

“LaTourelle uses coloured geometrical elements to emphasize the structural/aesthetic qualities of the architecture. The immersive quality of the installation invokes the potential mood-altering effects of colour, a central theme of LaTourelle’s work. For those walking through this corridor, the serial play of strong hues also creates an optical illusion, as a result of which the trusses seem to change in scale. As LaTourelle’s title Chronochroma 6 implies, this piece thematizes the effects of different colours that reflect off our retinas as we pass through the space, that is, as we pass through time. This creates highly personal experiences, inducing different moods in different people,” Crowe said in an online article.

I’m not sure whether it does all that, but it is certainly a refreshing corridor.

Instead of hiring artists, why not hire students? I wonder how much money was paid to LaTourelle for his work. It’s not like it would be hard to find art students around the city who would gladly work on the university for free.

Serena Keshavjee, associate professor and coordinator in the Art History Program, is hoping to restore the Buffeteria to its 1972 glory when it was covered in supergraphics by Ursula Ferguson, and furnished with Canadian-designed lounging furniture.

I look forward to seeing what Keshavjee produces in the future. The university’s new buildings are a nice change to the outdated main campus, even though some modern architecture haters dislike the designs.

The University of Winnipeg doesn’t have tons of beautiful historic buildings like McGill, and only our new buildings are contemporary enough to be attractive. The least we can do is try to brighten up our existing interior with a new paint job.