Alternative Art in the Library

Students that are not too lazy to take the stairs have probably noticed by now the murals that line the walls of the stairwells in the library. Each floor is marked by an artistic expression of some sort, whether abstract or just pleasing to the eye.
What interests me more is the spontaneity of art; amateurs that on a whim write the initials of their loved one next to their own with a heart separating the two sets. Bathroom stalls and study desks are littered with unintentional artistic brilliance, which can't help but exemplify the human condition.

I started my search for alternative art in what I felt was the most obvious arena: the bathroom. I don't think I have ever used a public restroom that didn't have some sort of amateur artistic imprint. I've noticed that "FUCK YOU" is the most oft-written phrase. It's almost as if a whole generation of kids that read Catcher in the Rye grew up to write "FUCK YOU" on as many public spaces as possible. Needless to say, that particular epithet has become the "Louie Louie" of bathroom art.

On the stall in the men's room on the 7th floor of the library, somebody wrote "PREVERTS THOMPSON BASEMINT (sic)". Excited to finally meet some professional preverts, I quickly hurried off to the Thompson basement. I looked on the directory next to the elevator. To my dismay, there was no designated office in the basement for preverts. Further adding to my trouble, the door that led to the basement was locked.

I returned to the library and decided to look for some more art in the upper floors of the library. These spot are often vacant, so artists would have plenty of time to practice freely. I walked into a room full of book stacks on the 24th floor. I remembered that as a child and budding artist, I would often write in text books. Being that the books around me were mostly medical books, I looked for the most likely of books that would gave someone inspiration to practice their artistry: breast-feeding instructional books. After ten minutes of closely examining the books, I came across no art...just a whole lot of breasts.



I walked down the the 23rd floor and came across some fine displays of alternative artistry. On one study table, someone wrote, "RO & KM 10/2005". I can imagine what went through this person's mind as they wrote it.

"You know, I'd really like to somehow validate my relationship with KM. I should write something...jeeze I really should. Our namkes should be written in the stars..but fuck it..I'll settle for this study desk I have right in front of me."

The shallow pricks probably broke up after a week.

If Shakespeare said that the world is a stage, then I would argue that the library is a canvas. People drop in to do their work, and many of them choose to leave a statement. Some about fleeting love, others writing weird shit like "LILLIUM". After reviewing the art I found throughout the many floors of the lbirary, I decided to make my own contribution: I wrote "Ryan is a Sex God" on the stall in a women's bathroom.