By Morgan Armitage
Staff Writer

Nora Brodnicki and Kelly White of Clackamas Community College’s art department have been spearheading the tedious task of giving all the art on campus informational placards.

According to White, this is no new goal.

“The college used to send me a list of artwork that I had to confirm was here or not … so I have lists from decades ago,” White said. “Currently, the goal is to label the artwork with information about the artist and include any info on why the artwork was purchased.”

The placards generally include the artist’s name and a description of the work, but occasionally they include statements from the artists themselves.

The placard for Don Gray’s painting, “Teepee,” hangs on the second floor of McLoughlin Hall. Photos by Frankie Shorey

White and Brodnicki are not the only people who have contributed to this arduous process. Isaiah Lee from the English department had a hand in it, too.

As part of a leadership group, Lee and about four others would help proofread the placards, and some of them even helped put them up around the school.

“I didn’t know the origin of many of the pieces around campus, and so kind of part of our work was going around and logging all of the art on campus, and helping to identify what needed placards,” Lee said.

The painting “Tree of Life,” by Jack Adams, alongside its informational placard.

Those who assisted in the project agreed that the basic information on the placards play a role in the way that the art is perceived.

“People have questions about ‘Why is this art here?’” Lee said. “People might wonder what a piece of art means, and having that information there is useful for a lot of reasons, not just curiosity.”

English Department administrator Isaiah Lee stands next to an artwork that depicts writer Michael Chabon as a superhero on the second floor of Roger Rook Hall. Photo by Carlos Rodriguez-Picazo

Such is true in the case of the artwork on the second floor of Roger Rook Hall, where some superhero paintings came under public scrutiny.

Each painting is of a white, male hero, each with a similar face. What people didn’t realize was that the paintings were a tribute to Pulitzer Prize winner and writer Michael Chabon, who won his prize for his riff on traditional heroes in his book “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.”

The paintings were all meant to have Chabon’s face, and they were done by David Anderson, who used to be an art teacher at CCC. It commemorates Chabon’s visit and lecture at the campus.

But people didn’t know that without the placards. Lee acknowledged that this was an upside to having information next to the art.

Paintings depicting the “Vernal Equinox”, “Autumnal Equinox”, and the “Summer Solstice” by Mary Ann Smith.

“I wouldn’t say it was entirely about discouraging misinterpretation, because art’s all about interpretation, but I think it’s very good to have context around all this art,” Lee said.

Amanda Coffey, department chair of the English department, held a similar opinion on the topic of the Chabon paintings.

“There’s no information about them, I can understand how they could be misunderstood without any context about why they’re there,” Coffey said.

Landscape painting, “Boat Scene” by Leland John, hangs on the second floor of McLoughlin Hall.

So the placards provide that context. At least, they will when they’ve all made it on a wall. As of now, Brodnicki and White are still working to get all of them up.

“It’s something that Nora and Kelly in the art department just have wanted to do for a really long time,” Coffey said. “I think that art, when we are endeavoring to be more aware and socially just, and recognizing the impact of all things on all people, art around the campus has been called into question.”