T
he breadth and depth of the GE Healthcare Compassion Project’s impact on MIAD students throughout the year has been profound, and two students are taking it one stride further, creating a semi-permanent and interactive sculpture for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on May 4, 2013.
During a design-focused compassion course, Integrated Studio Arts major Alyssa Anderson ’15 was approached with the chance to create a large-scale, semi-permanent outdoor sculpture for the walk that honors breast cancer survivors, and raises money and awareness in the fight against breast cancer.
“Seeing this as a monumental opportunity, I found it hard to say no, and was immediately researching what I could do to contribute to the foundation,” said Anderson.
Working with Chair of 2D/4D Design Phil Belair, Anderson decided to turn breast cancer on its head and use her background with natural materials to incorporate branches and flowers into the design.
“We decided to ‘turn a new leaf,’ turn the ribbon upside down and get a new perspective…. We also wanted there to be a take-away for anyone participating in the walk, pushing us to come up with the idea of having small pieces of plantable seed confetti in the center of the sculpture.”
With the sculpture design calling for a height of 12 feet and a metal understructure, Anderson asked Sculpture major Margret Halquist ’15 to collaborate, helping to weld, construct and push the idea even further.
Anderson added that the sculpture is “a statement about how people are frustrated with breast cancer, but there is still hope and we should not give up.”
The MIAD community is participating in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk as the culminating experience for the 2012-2013 college-wide GE + MIAD Compassion Project.
Top image: Alyssa Anderson ’15
Second image: Making Strides Against Breast Cancer sculpture pre-installation
Third image: Margret Halquist ’15
