On a sunny February afternoon, the Institute’s technological prowess took a backseat to the artistic bent of its undergraduate students, when the interior of the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons was converted into a massive art gallery and performance space.
As part of the second annual Clough Art Crawl, paintings, drawings and photographs stood on easels and hung from walls. Display cases revealed sculptures and craftwork. And video screens played student-made films. The works varied widely in style, but, for an institution with no fine arts program, Tech features a student body with unmistakable talent. Nearly 150 students submitted 360 pieces, which remained on display into March.
Dozens of onlookers gathered in the second-floor atrium to watch a film featuring a stuffed bear dressed in an Iron Man costume as it ventured on what seemed to be an existential quest. Others moved slowly down the building’s long hallways, discussing in hushed tones the artistic merits of the pieces on display.
This year’s crawl featured a jury of faculty, alumni and Atlanta artists who awarded cash prizes to the top artists in each medium.
On the third floor, a crowd of faculty and students had gathered around a temporary stage, where Brent Hornilla, a third-year computer engineering student and editor of Erato, the on-campus literature and arts magazine, set out to introduce the evening’s first poetry reading. But when Hornilla called out the reader’s name, no one stepped up to the stage. No matter—the host pulled out a notebook and began to read one of his own poems.
At the back of the audience, next to a case displaying a piece of jewelry labeled “Pretty Little Wolf Girl,” a group of students sat nervously, waiting for their turn to take the stage.
Meanwhile, students, faculty and staff milled about the building, deciding which piece would receive their vote for the People’s Choice award.
Each attendee received a ballot, deliberated over their favorite pieces of art and deposited their ballots in boxes scattered around the building.
Later, the ballots were tallied and the winner announced: Erin Hennessy, a human-computer interaction master’s student, whose lifelike replica of the alien E.T. had spent the Art Crawl waving to visitors from atop the information desk.
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