Central Michigan Life

Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Matthew Stephens Members of Art Must Dash displayed art in a unique form Thursday afternoon. The collective painted on scrap cardboard, rented a U-Haul truck and marked campus with their art while running through buildings and making noises to draw attention. Six of the seven members are pictured. [Click to enlarge]

Some students found some art where they least expected it Thursday afternoon.

That unexpected place happened to be the back of a U-Haul truck.

Art Must Dash, an art collective made up of students who asked not to be named, chauffeured cardboard art pieces they made in a U-Haul truck and dropped them off at five locations. The group left art in the Charles V. Park Library, Grawn Computer Lab, Towers parking lot, Anspach Hall and the downtown square.

The students only stopped for a few minutes at each place, armed with a megaphone, made nonsense noises and dropped off their art.

Romeo senior Chris Pietras, a consultant at Grawn Computer Lab, said people in the lab definitely took notice of the group.

"(Art Must Dash) came in and dropped off a bunch of garbage," Pietras said. "It kind of disturbed some people in the lab. We weren't really happy about it."

Pietras said the group left before they could be asked to leave. The art was soon deposited into a garbage bin outside the computer lab.

The group asked not to be identified to avoid getting in trouble for disturbing the peace.

"Ms. Pink," a Mount Pleasant senior, said cardboard was used because it's easy to carry and disposable. She said the group knew the artwork would get thrown away.

Each of the seven group members painted a set of five images on cardboard and dropped one of each image off at each location. The artwork included paintings of everything from faces to squirrels.

"Each one (of us) went about designing in a different way," said Rochester freshman "Ms. Rainbow."

Mount Pleasant junior "Mr. Brown" said students weren't expecting to see the art.

"There were laughs, there were scowls," he said.

Pink said her group wanted to reach people who wouldn't normally be interested in art.

Shepherd senior "Mr. Black" said the group went out three weeks ago and set up an exhibit for an hour and a half at each location. Pink said the guerilla tactics were more effective.

"Instead of trying to set up an exhibit, we just wanted to make a public spectacle," Black said.

Mr. Black said the group chose to rent a U-Haul truck because it was cheap and attracted attention.

"We could do it in a minivan, but it wouldn't be the same," he said.

Mr. Brown said using the truck goes along with the group's name, Art Must Dash.

"Because art must move," Brown said.


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