‘Freedom to let go’

With 2,000 feet of string and 400 nails, students in studio art Professor Toby Sisson’s course The Expanded Mark: New Strategies in Drawing have created a “collaborative wall drawing” spanning 45 feet on the second floor of the Traina Center for the Arts.

The wall drawing is inspired by the work of Sol Lewitt, a pioneer in the development of conceptual art, and is currently on view. Students titled their drawing “At Least 10,” a nod to Lewitt’s instruction of randomly placing at least 50 points on a wall connected by straight lines, Sisson explains. However, the students expanded their scope, adding many more points and including slack lines.

“Interestingly, the students predetermined that the composition would be improvisational, but the process would be democratic. So, each student could work within the space to add their own ‘mark,’ and the group collectively decided when to add to, subtract from, and finish the drawing,” says Sisson. “Unlike the dread students sometimes feel about group projects this was an opportunity to think together and work together in a way that made the drawing’s creation thoughtful yet spontaneous — the best of both worlds.”

Raven Nelson ’25, a studio art and art history major, enjoyed the collaborative aspect of the project. As soon as the students took to the wall with duct tape, hammers, nails, and string, it was apparent they had free reign to make any creative choice they desired.

“We worked intuitively and quickly — sometimes individually on a section, sometimes collaboratively with a couple of others on a section, and some of the decisions were made with the input of the whole class,” Nelson says. “The process flowed seamlessly as if we had been working together for years, yet we’ve never interacted as a group outside of class.

“Our abilities to seamlessly blend personal creative intuition with community and collaboration was what I enjoyed most about the installation process. I think that a lot of other groups of people might not quietly land on the same consensus of trusting each other’s intuition so blindly.”

Sisson and students spent several class periods planning the project. The installation took 2.5 hours over two class periods.

“The lounge where the work is installed is also a route between classrooms, offices, and the media arts study hub, and lots of folks stopped walking to ask about the work and offer their thoughts,” says Sisson. “Inspiring curiosity is the best reward.”

Carter Peterson ’26, a studio art and biology major, says the string “almost had a mind of its own” as the students placed it along the wall.

“I found myself making starburst-like shapes, lines that would expand all from a single point, sometimes making two central spots to expand from when the first nail became full,” he says. “It was really wonderful to work with so many other artists. Everyone had their own style even with just string. It stands to show the power of creating with a team — none of us alone could have made something as complex or widespread in such a short time.”

For Rebecca Lauren Cutshall ’26, who plans to declare an art history major, the experience was a release.

“Working with these materials and working in a way that was very sporadic gave me freedom to let go, to put on my headphones and really just enjoy the process, enjoy working with my classmates, and enjoy not feeling so stressed about things being perfect,” says Cutshall. “This drawing tells a story of collaboration and freedom of expression for me — to be able to let go of the constraints of what art ‘should’ be or look like.”

Rachel Harvie ’27, a studio art and interactive media major, says this project taught them that conceptual art is more about the process than the final design.

“I hope that viewers will get inspired to make their own wall drawing one day,” Harvie says.

The drawing will be de-installed sometime in March, Sisson says. The short timeframe to view the piece feels significant to Harvie.

“This wall drawing is representative of the impermanence of all things and how we should enjoy them in the limited time they, and we, have,” Harvie says.