What is the surest path to search for God? Given his academic positions and scholarly writing, it might be surprising to learn that Pope Benedict XVI often emphasized the via pulchritudinis, the ”way of beauty,” as a sure path that leads to God. “Art is able to manifest and make visible the human need to surpass the visible, it expresses the thirst and the quest for the infinite,” he said.
La Salle University, a Lasallian Catholic university founded in 1863, has created an innovative art experience on its campus in the Logan neighborhood of Philadelphia. With a Faithfully Forward Initiative grant through the Presidents Institute from Interfaith America, La Salle created a digital mural to reflect the diversity of its community through the lens of faith. The digital mural can be displayed in multiple locations on campus as its images are projected onto building walls, windows, or sidewalks. This versatile art form can also be updated so that the images continue to reflect the diversity of the university community as it evolves.
The design of the digital mural was an inclusive and collaborative process that started with input sessions for faculty, staff, and students. Participants were invited to reflect on what it means to be Lasallian and to identify the shared values of the university community. “There was some initial hesitation,” said Dr. Geoff Beatty, associate professor of digital arts at La Salle University. “But the participants eventually warmed to the process and potential of creating this shared artwork.”
Philadelphia-based designer, painter, and muralist Becky McIntyre was commissioned to create the digital mural. Dr. Beatty was especially heartened by the willingness to include an undergraduate digital arts major, Grace McKenna, who studied design and applied arts to assist and learn from the professional artist. Philadelphia is home to more than four thousand murals and public art.
Alisa Macksey, vice president of mission, diversity and inclusion at La Salle University, emphasized the benefit of the inclusive and collaborative process that allowed the students to express themselves through art. “During the discussions, sometimes students had difficulty finding the right words,” she said. “But when they had the time to create what they were feeling, it was easier.”
Macksey also connected the institutional commitment to diversity at the university with its Lasallian Catholic heritage. “Our Lasallian mission is in 80 countries worldwide, serving over one million students in over 1,100 educational centers,” she said. “Our institutions are in countries of varying faith backgrounds, economic statuses, and cultures – here we work to build bridges across divides and foster respect across differences.”
The digital mural is in line with La Salle University’s commitment to innovation and expanding educational access to a broad range of learners. In addition to their current undergraduate and graduate programs, La Salle University recently launched the Miguel Campos School to house its associate degree programs. La Salle University has been recognized as one of the most diverse colleges in America.
The digital mural enhances the beauty of the campus and reflects the values of La Salle University. As a faith-based university, it may also support community members in their search for God. As Pope Benedict said, “It may have happened on some occasion that you paused before a sculpture, a picture, a few verses of a poem or a piece of music that you found deeply moving, that gave you a sense of joy, a clear perception, that is, that what you beheld was not only matter, a piece of marble or bronze, a painted canvas, a collection of letters or an accumulation of sounds, but something greater, something that ‘speaks,’ that can touch the heart, communicate a message, uplift the mind.”
The Faithfully Forward Initiative grant supported not only the artistic creation of the digital mural but also the collaborative process that produced it. “The final artwork captures in loving detail the diversity of our community while also showcasing our shared value of exploring our world,” said Dr. Beatty. “I am proud to walk by this every day, enjoying not just the end result but the caring, collaborative process that resulted in it.”
Michael Hahn, Ph.D. is the associate dean of the school of education at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.
