By Laura Darche
A Striking mural by alumna Laura Taler, titled The Hand is a Mind is a Heart, now graces University Square. It is the result of an initiative to which students, both past and present, have contributed by taking part in the various steps – from original idea to installation of the work, as well as planning and theme proposal.
While studying for her master’s degree, Anaïs Elboujdaini noticed that certain walls on campus would be ideal for displaying public art. She proposed her idea to the University’s senior management team, which responded favourably. What’s more, the University’s president was particularly receptive.
“We need to make the University open to art, both permanent and ephemeral. There should be art everywhere on campus.” – Jacques Frémont, President of the University of Ottawa
Student artists and alumni were invited to propose murals based on a specific topic, namely “The inner workings of the mind of a University of Ottawa student.” A jury of students selected Laura Taler’s work, which overlooks University Square today.
Eyes inspired hands
As a student, Laura Taler would regularly bike past Les Yeux (The Eyes), a piece that once adorned MacDonald Hall and has been recreated on the STEM Complex. In this work, created by artist James Boyd, Laura saw an invitation to stop and really see the world around her. As a result, she set out to create a piece that would interact with Les Yeux.
“Through this work I want to remind passers by that learning is not only an intellectual activity, but that it includes physical, sensorial, and emotional aspects of ourselves.” – Laura Taler (MFA '11)
Taler sought to express the idea of the body and the senses as central to the acquisition and transmission of knowledge. The hands represent touch, the ear shape, hearing. The image of a brain, which viewers can see by tilting their heads to the left, symbolizes thought. Everything is held together by the heart, which fuels the passionate curiosity that motivates the desire to learn.