Frequently asked Questions
The University Center Mural

A 200 foot-long mural of Pittsburgh in the Rotunda of the University Center

Douglas Cooper, Artist
School of Architecture
Carnegie Mellon University

E-mail Douglas Cooper at dcooper+@andrew.cmu.edu
Jonathan Kline, Artist Assistant
John Trivelli, Artist Assistant
Michael Dennis Associates, Architect

back to The University Center Mural

About Douglas Cooper

How was it made?

  

Question: How long did it take?

 
Answer: The mural took one year to complete. We worked as a group of three: myself with Jonathan Kline (B.Arch '98) and John Trivelli (B.Art '92) as assistants.

Question: What materials were used?

 
A: We drew the mural using vine charcoal on paper that we had mounted front and back with acrylic Liquitex Gel Medium over pre-sealed medium density fiberboard panels(MDF). We mounted the paper both front and back in order to protect against the paper causing the panels to cup.

Question: Why is it not in color?

 
A:By representing everything in black and white, I did not have to deal with the material issues (grass is green; brick is red; sky is blue) that come naturally with color. Being as a consequence able to dematerialize the landscape, so to speak, I could show the houses buildings and groundscape as one continuous surface, thus helping me to more powerfully characterize the steeply sloping Pittsburgh landscape.

Question: What music do you listen to?

 
A:Jazz, opera and alot of Doo Wop.

Question: How is it protected?

 
A:After the drawing was completed and fixed, we coated each panel front and back with several layers of acrylic Liquitex Gloss Medium and Varnish. After the acrylic had cured for at least a week, we brushed on an outer surface of Liquitex Soluvar picture varnish. This outer surface is reversible (it can be removed with mineral spirits) should it (as it eventually will) accumulate dirt and/or yellow.

Question: Where was it drawn?

 
A:We completed the mural off-site in my Greenfield studio. We constructed a scaffold to hold the upper and lower echelons of panels in their proper positions. While we were always able to see the full height of the mural, owing to the size limitations of my studio, at any single point in time, we were only able to view 24 foot-wide portions. We brought the mural to the University Center by truck and installed in early June 1996.