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By PATRICIA FLINT
Staff Writer
Film, curlers, zippers, plastic tubes, and other "stuff" are given
new purpose in Rudy Vavra's floor collage, which opened Decem
ber 6, in Rudder Exhibit Hall.
Vavra graduated from Texas A&M last year in environmental
design and now lectures a basic design class. He's a diverse artist,
painting with oils and water colors, doing weaving, small collages,
some three dimensional work, and he occasionally works with
fiber. He did his first floor collage last year, which like this one,
was sponsored by MSC Arts Committee. Each art form he uses is
unique from the others.
Vavra starts with a base of white paper, using it for its reflective
quality, and then layers his material on top of it. He seems to
choose things for their color, texture or geometric quality.
"When I take materials, they have qualities that are unique to
them," Vavra says. "I try to let the materials do what they want to
do.
"I do think my things have geometry to them. I don't know
why. I just try to let myself do. I try not to think too much about it.
So if there's a diversity in all those things, maybe that's how it
happens."
He started working on the collage at 8:30 Wednesday morning,
saying it would take him 15-18 hours to complete. He doesn't de
sign his work ahead of time; he works spontaneously with the
material he has.
"The collage is simply done by bringing the materials up here
and doing it," he says. "The whole thing just sort of happens. It's
like drawing or painting for me.
"I just walk over to the pile and pick up something and do it.
Once I put something down, I just leave it there and don't move
it."
The materials Vavra uses have not been bought for the project,
but have been saved by him over a period of time. He says they're
the kind of materials one stumbles upon.
Vavra wants his work to appeal to everyone, not just to an eso
teric few.
"I would never have just artists appreciate my work," he says.
"I'd rather have a variety of people enjoying it, experiencing it.
"There's a lot of different people in this world. There's a lot of
different levels to appreciate a lot of different things."
Vavra tries to teach his students more than just the mechanics
of design.
"I try to teach my students to be themselves, to listen, to think,
to think creatively, to learn how to work with people," he said.
"Maybe, hopefully, their eyes get bigger, they see more than be
fore they took my class. Maybe. And not be afraid to be creative.
"You can be a thinker, be intelligent, but if you're not creative,
than your ideas won't be able to be implemented."
Rudy Vavra (bottom)
works on his second col
lage creation for the
Rudder Exhibit Hall. His
work is sponsored by
the MSC Arts Commit
tee. The collage (left)
covers the entire floor. It
will be on display
through finals week.