chvatalm2@lopers.unk.edu

Leslie Iwai, a Nebraska native, was selected by the Nebraska Arts Council to display her artwork throughout the Calvin T. Ryan Library. The cloud designs, morse code and various murals and statues were completed on Friday, Sept. 20.

Iwai drew inspiration from the natural beauty she saw throughout Nebraska.

“A lot of my work in the past four years has dealt with the idea of bringing the outside, inside,” Iwai said. “I love subtle colors along with the idea of life beneath the surface.”

In 2022, the Nebraska Arts Council, representatives from across the UNK campus and MONA came together to review over 100 applications, of which they narrowed to seven in-person interviews. Because of Iwai’s idea of bringing the outside indoors, the “cumulate” project spoke to the beauty of Nebraska and the idea of bringing outside knowledge into students’ minds. 

Iwai’s ideas for the project came from various inspirations of previous work she had done at other universities. She largely based it on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. 

The clouds hanging from the ceiling represent the storing of knowledge, just as clouds store moisture. The colors perforating the clouds match the dots and lines painted on the walls of the library, which stand for Morse poetry. Each of the nine colors represents poetry that speaks of nature and communication. 

There will also be a large book with braille that was printed by the Clovernook Press in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the first braille producer run by the visually impaired. 

“The vision for the library is to be an engaging place for students, a place that they want to be,” said David Arredondo, the collection services librarian. “ Leslie’s artwork is a great representation of that vision because it contributes to the atmosphere while always providing ways to be intellectually and creatively engaging to library patrons.”

She hopes that the artwork will provide a place of visual rest for students who visit the library. The Morse code also represents respite for all of the challenges people face in the world. 

A website will be released in the coming weeks that offers background on all of the pieces of work, along with depicting the Morse code. 

“I hope with the website that students will get curious about poetry and be able to see the beauty taken away by a busy world,” Iwai said. 

There will also be a celebration to honor the work and artists at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10.