The Fine Arts building was constructed during George Ryan’s tenure as Governor of Illinois, using the architectural firm VOA Associates who have been designing buildings since the late sixties. The early concept of a Fine Arts Building came about many decades ago but has gained renewed interest under Gordon Lamb, President of Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) from 1986 to 1995. Although the plans came to fruition under Lamb, the building was not realized until after he left NEIU. Construction began in 1996 and was completed in 1999. The building was dedicated, after a unanimous vote by the NEIU Board of Trustees at their Sept. 20, 2007 meeting, to Dr Salme Harju Steinberg, an eleven year President of NEIU from 1995 to 2006.
Steinberg joined the faculty in 1975 as a member of the History Department, working her way up over the years from Professor to Provost to President in 1995. Under her presidency, NEIU grew in enrollment from ten thousand to twelve thousand students. A controversial decision to eliminate the Division I athletic programs, shifting about $2 million in school budget money, marked the beginning of her presidency as one geared toward academics. When in the fall of 2004 faculty complaints regarding their teaching contracts came to a head and a two and a half week strike ensued, Steinberg garnered praise in helping to resolve the strike and forge a new contract acceptable to the faculty.
The Fine Arts Building houses the offices of the Art Department, the Communications, Media and Theatre Department (CMT) and the Music Department and Dance Program (Dance available as a minor). The Independent will save interviewing the CMT Department for an article on the F-Wing (building) and its scheduled reconstruction later in this series of articles this semester, and focuses for now on music and art since most of what they do happens and is displayed in the Fine Arts Building.
The Independent spoke with Peter Goldman, who works as secretary of the Art Department, about the various spaces and usage of them. Goldman graduated from NEIU last spring with an Art degree and his concentration was in ceramics, so he knows the studios of the Fine Arts Building personally. The first floor has the ceramics and metals and jewelry studios. The second floor has a photography studio, print making, painting, two drawing studios, sculpture, which also has a woodworking and large metals shop, and also casting for plaster, clay and fiberglass.
“I do more figurative work but I have done a lot of pottery,” says Goldman. “There are quite a few pottery wheels in the ceramic studio. There’s space there for not only throwing on the pottery wheels but also tables so you can do figurative work or slab work. There’s a kiln room with multiple kilns, gas and electric, and a glaze room where you can mix your own glazes.”
Goldman graduated last May and his senior show displayed in the library. There are two areas there for such shows as well as the student gallery on the second floor. The north end of the first floor of the Fine Arts Building boasts the Fine Arts Center Gallery, where there is currently an alumni show on exhibit. Goldman has some work in this show along with seventeen other alumni artists.
“There’s generally a good turn out for shows in that gallery,” states Goldman. “We’re pretty consistent in our department in regard to alumni outreach. There are quite a few alumni who have work displayed outdoors on campus, near the WTTW studios and in the garden by the cafeteria.”
In regard to digital art, Goldman says, “We do have quite a good computer lab. Most majors utilize that lab for 2D design, which is required for graduating majors and minors; you do quite a bit of computer work.”
Goldman is utilizing a lot of what he learned in that lab to set up his own website to display his artwork. “It’s so easy now to get a website going if you have the skills and knowledge.” He feels he has picked up a lot of shortcuts and tips from classmates on how best to set up his website and is ahead of the game because of that aspect of his educational experience.
The Independent also spoke with Steve Zivin of the Music Department and Dance Program about their involvement in the Fine Arts Building. Aside from the departmental offices, there are many practice rooms and studios. There are classrooms, electronic music studios and many more traditional studios and practice spaces, like the dance studio and band rehearsal room for band, orchestra, chorus or opera.
“The practice rooms are for music students to use by the hour,” says Zivin. “There are two rooms set aside for percussion and all the other ones have pianos. Anybody who is taking music lessons can use those rooms.” There are music tutors scheduled at various times to assist students.
Zivin is the concert coordinator. He studied at NEIU, finished in 1982 then came back in 1987 to join the faculty. There are many concerts and events scheduled in the auditorium, which was completely renovated recently and seats 500, and the recital hall, seating 175, located at the north end of the Fine Arts Building.
“We have five or six student recitals every semester,” says Zivin, “so students have an opportunity to perform; to get experience performing. It’s pretty open so you will hear a variety of things; could be singers, pianists, saxophone, or anything.”
“We have faculty recitals,” continues Zivin. “Those are “ensembles which are directed by a faculty member.” There are also the various performing arts showcases and the Master Class and Jewelbox series. “We have Travis Heath coming up,” says Zivin. “He’s our new faculty trumpet [instructor]. And there’s Larry Combs, a guest artist who plays clarinet.” Both will be performing with the NEIU Varsity Big Band Feb. 22 in the auditorium.
For more information on the departments or the many fine events they bring to the fore at NEIU, please visit their sections of the NEIU website at neiu.edu/~art/ and neiu.edu/~music/ respectively.