Photo courtesy of Mary Babcock

In his Art 276 class, fine arts junior Wayne Dusterhoff works on a weaving depicting the ethos of various foreign countries. The weavings will be on display today from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in front of the Center for Creative Photography in the Fine Arts Complex.

For several weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the UA community used blank panels situated around campus as a medium for expression. Students scrawled quotes of anger, sadness, pleas for peace and political rhetoric on the white space.

Art graduate teaching assistant Mary Babcock's Beginning Fibers class continues this tradition of public dialogue today with the display of a class project, "weaving the world," at the site of the former "Wall of Expression" in front of the Center for Creative Photography.

For the weaving project, made of 19 tapestries, Babcock's students each researched a country they knew little about and formed a collage design for the tapestry based on their response to cultural, historical and geographical research.

Babcock said her intent is to encourage a more thorough understanding of different regions and people, a goal she deems significant in a period of cultural and religious clashes that often stem from misconceptions and stereotypes.

"It seems to me like the U.S. is pretty insulated," Babcock said. "Community is important to global peace. Rather than project our own ideas of what (other countries) are, we can understand other perspectives."

Countries explored for the assignment range from Iceland to Morocco to Chad. Students researched various topics such as geology, what people of the nation are proud and afraid of and historical figures. Using this information, they formulated a theme and collage, then wove their ideas into a tapestry with materials ranging from recycled garbage bags to fishing grubs and hypodermic needles.

Unlike most art assignments, which tend to focus on the artist's personal experience, "weaving the world" pushed students out into libraries and the Internet to collect information about the external world.

"Art in general delves into our personal experience in the inside world," Babcock said. "I wanted to encourage people to have art as a bridge to the outside world."

Besides the subject of "weaving the world," several other elements of the project, such as the weaving process and class display, encouraged the idea of community. Instead of portable looms, the class worked on large floor-to-ceiling looms in the fibers classroom. The close proximity during the process encouraged interaction between classmates, who learned more about one another's projects and countries.

UA photography senior Jesse Burke was enthusiastic about the class and project.

"It's a great assignment. I learned a little about each country from sitting next to people," Burke said. "You spend 10 hours in class sitting on the floor in front of this ridiculously tall thing, so you have to be into it."

As illustrated by the response to the "Wall of Expression," the area in front of CCP is a high-traffic, high-visibility site. Babcock's idea to display class work outside of the Art building and gallery spaces is uncommon to most UA art classes. The result is an increased exchange of ideas beyond just the arts community, something Babcock would like to see emphasized.

"Getting people's stuff outside of the classroom is important," she said. "For me it feels good to have my work shared."

Students will be at the site to discuss their work today from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.