As Colorado State University’s Andrew G. Clark Building continues to be demolished, a spark of creativity can be seen on the first floor of Clark C.

The Clark building has long been the primary location for the College of Liberal Arts, and with the recent construction, only parts of the building remain open. However, the reconstruction does not have to be the only thing associated with Clark.

Art students and Blake Leadership Scholars Laura Sanchez Unda and Koko Yagai designed a mural alongside graduate student Lara Van Vuuren and arts management Instructor David Pyle, who oversaw the project. 

“It was just really part of revitalizing the building because it is an older building and there’s not a lot of life in there,” Yagai said. “So I think they wanted to … give us the opportunity to show our creative abilities in a way that could also impact other students.”

The eye-catching colors of this new addition give some positivity to the hallway and host creativity in a building surrounded by parts being constantly torn down.

“It was really wonderful to see students just catching a glimpse of it while it was being painted and then being unable to keep their eyes off of it — that was sort of our main goal,” Van Vuuren said. “Our biggest theme with this mural is that it was made by students, for students.”

While the campus community is able to enjoy the sight of this artwork, it is only temporary. Like the rest of Clark, this part of the building will go down eventually.

“Throughout a lot of my art classes, we’ve kind of been taught how time itself can be a medium, and the fact (that) it’s temporary makes it special,” Sanchez Unda said. “Those who saw it will talk about it like, ‘Yeah, there used to be a mural here before,’ and that’s why we have photographs to freeze that in time. So though it’s sad it’s going to be gone, there’s something special about art that isn’t permanent.”

“(Clark) just feels very dead, especially at night, so I think with the colors I just wanted it to be a little eye break, a little mental break, where you could just look at these bold colors and feel a little energized by them.” -Laura Sanchez Unda, mural designer

This project went through multiple iterations before the final design was settled on. The majority of the project was spent brainstorming and ironing out all the details of which symbols and colors would best represent the CLA.

“I wanted to reflect the diverse disciplines within the College of Liberal Arts, and to do this, I wanted to incorporate symbolic graphics representing majors within the College of Liberal Arts,” Yagai said. “My goal was really to create a design that conveys a sense of optimism and growth for the future.” 

Looking at the mural, viewers can see a mountain, a sun and multiple symbols sprouting around the mural that represent different aspects of the CLA.

“The focal point (is) a mountain because I wanted to symbolize the strong foundation that a liberal arts education provides, especially because mountains are associated with determination, resilience, strength, which are all qualities essential for interdisciplinary students,” Yagai said. “Those elements like the book, the graph, the paintbrush, the camera, are all specific to representing the majors like journalism, economics, political science and some other ones.”

Along with deciding the actual content of the design was the decision of which colors to pair it with. There was much to consider to make sure this piece was perceived exactly how the team wanted.

“(Clark) just feels very dead, especially at night, so I think with the colors I just wanted it to be a little eye break, a little mental break, where you could just look at these bold colors and feel a little energized by them,” Sanchez Unda said.

Although the artwork was meant to represent the CLA, it was not only CLA students who put their time and effort into this project.

Students from all different majors volunteered to paint and bring the vision to life. Each part was labeled with a number corresponding to the color it needed to be painted. Volunteers spent their time carefully filling in each and every section.

“It’s literally kind of an adult, grand, paint-by-numbers situation,” Van Vuuren said.

Out of the four days they were scheduled to paint, the project only took two because of the help of the volunteers.

“A big marketing tactic for getting this volunteer opportunity out there was also because I think that people are missing an opportunity to collaborate and do something artsy as opposed to go on their phones or just watch movies with friends,” Van Vuuren said. “It’s more hands-on, and I think people are wanting that intimacy — doing something creative with friends.”

The success of this mural leaves anticipation for what could be in store for more artists. For now, students and staff can enjoy this newest addition to Clark C.

Reach Janaya Stafford at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.