Mystery artist makes science 'bear'able for students, faculty

Students and faculty first reported sightings of elaborate architectural white board drawings in the Gottwald Center for the Sciences three weeks ago, but the artist, who leaves behind nothing but a bear claw signature, remains anonymous.

Some of the images include the Great Wall of China, the Colosseum, the Taj Mahal, Chitzen Itza, the Arc de Triomphe and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Using only an arsenal of polychromatic Expo markers, the artist draws these images on random public white boards throughout the building's first three floors.

Sophomore Patricia McNamara said the artist must have used a personal set of markers because the colors in the images were bolder and more varied than the ones professors used in the classroom.

"The drawings are out of control," McNamara said. "As a biology major who is so consumed with my studies, it is so cool to get a chance to see such beautiful art work."

Roman Abdul Satar, a sophomore chemistry major, said the first floor drawings of the Great Wall of China and the Arc de Triomphe had been magnificently detailed, but they had only been drawn with black and blue Expo markers.

Some of the work on higher floors in the building, she said, such as the Taj Mahal, exhibited illuminating color.

The Taj Mahal on the second floor B pod radiated with magentas, oranges, reds and yellows until it was erased earlier this week.

Laura Runyen-Janecky and April Hill, biology professors whose offices are adjacent to the second floor B pod white boards, said they had hoped to preserve the drawings for as long as possible.

After spending a substantial amount of time considering other options, Runyen-Janecky said, they erased the Taj Mahal image in favor of using the space for an important meeting. The decision was difficult, she said, because they didn't want to take away something so beautiful.

"Maybe because the artist chooses to draw on white boards [he] wants it to be transient like street art," she said, "but, then again, maybe I'm reading too far into it. Maybe the artist is just procrastinating and doesn't want to study for an econ test."

Caitlin Smith, a junior biochemistry major who often spends time in the second floor B pod workspace, said she enjoyed having the Taj Mahal keep her company during the past few weeks.

It was her favorite drawing, she said, because of the careful attention to shading and pronounced coloring. Smith said she missed the backdrop to her studies, which also served as an exotic escape.

A student in her class had seen the artist from afar and identified him as a male last week, she said, but the student didn't recognize the artist and didn't feel comfortable approaching a stranger who was not a science major.

Hill and Runyen-Janecky said they had started communicating with the artist to try to reveal his identity by posting questions to the right of the Taj Mahal drawing last week.

"It's like a game of 20 questions," Runyen-Janecky said. "We figured out the handwriting of the artist because [he] always responds with black ink and has fairly distinctive handwriting."

Students started playing the game too, she said, leaving questions, requests and comments to the right of the drawing.

This series of questions and answers revealed that the artist was an undergraduate student, but not a science major.

Other comments included: "An artistic bear is on the loose in G-wald. Stay alert people!" and, "You make the science center 'bear'able for art lovers! You are amazing!"

Now in place of the vibrant Taj Mahal, two notes for the artist remain:

"Dear Mystery Artist: Thank you for the beautiful art. We enjoyed it immensely. ~ 2nd floor B pod folks," and "Please contact Malcolm Hill about 'art employment opportunities' in biology."

Contact reporter Kaylin Politzer at kaylin.politzer@richmond.edu