Collegiate Times

For lovers of fine arts, may be nothing aesthetically pleasing about Virginia Tech?s Corporate Research Center. The drab brick buildings stare out of their mirrored windows with scientific precision. But this year, art patrons may be pleasantly surprised by what they find on the walls in the CRC,

In the CRC?s KnowledgeWorks building, located at 2200 Kraft Drive, the XYZ Student Art Association has decorated the white walls with the artwork of Tech students, alumni and local artists. A wide array of media, subjects and styles are represented, making the exhibition seem almost like an art sampler. Some pieces are for sale, with prices ranging from $50 to $600.

James Kucheman?s ?Warm Smiles and Laughing Eyes? arrests viewers at the first floor waiting room. This large composition in acrylic contains lively whites, yellows and reds swirling on a dark background. The movement and emotion in this painting takes it beyond the realm of office d?cor and draws the viewer into the exhibition.

Ben Capozzi?s edgy works prove that the featured art is not watered down for the corporate environment. Capozzi uses antique window frames to create thought-provoking sequences of comic art. In ?Ponderation,? Capozzi uses three frames to portray a man pondering, obsessing and finally vomiting in the last frame.

The viewer is led through hallways, around desks and beyond cubicles to see the exhibition. On some walls, the juxtaposition of artwork and dry-erase boards creates a curious composition in itself: does fine art belong in this office?

In the minds of those in the XYZ Student Art Association, there are not enough exhibitions like this at Tech.

Capozzi, vice president of XYZ and Tech graduate of fine arts and art history, described Tech as ?a very art-impoverished campus.?

?It?s about building community and getting artwork seen on campus,? Capozzi said, ?The gallery is interested in building relationships like this ? we?re very grateful for the opportunity.?

Ray Kass, XYZ faculty advisor and a retired painting professor at Tech, explained that XYZ?s ultimate goal is an interdisciplinary appreciation of art.

?This year I?m very pleased to have students involved from several colleges,? Kass said.

Beth Pacentrilli, former president of the XYZ, is largely responsible for setting up the CRC show.

?We?ve never done anything to this magnitude outside of the gallery,? Pacentrilli said.

Dennis Kafura, head of Tech?s department of computer science, originally contacted Pacentrilli over the summer about a possible art exhibit.

?They wanted a friendlier environment,? Pacentrilli said.

This exhibit is only the beginning for what Capozzi calls the ?XYZ Renaissance.? The XYZ has received other offers for exhibitions in offices around campus, including the Office of Scholarships.

Pacentrilli said the feedback from the CRC has been very positive; the CRC and XYZ signed a contract to make the art exhibition an annual event. The reactions of some CRC employees, however, were very ambivalent.

?Artwork does help; a blank white wall is not inspiring,? said Bharath Ramesh, a Ph.D. student. ?But the artwork should inspire the kind of work you do ? some of it doesn?t make sense to me. I feel it?s out of place.?

Wesley Tansey, who works for the Synergy Lab, admitted to liking some of the more abstract paintings because of their colors.

But Tansey added, ?Some of them seem inappropriate ? it?s a little distracting.?