AMAM, students up for art rental

Event has become Oberlin tradition

The time is upon us once again. A time when students can begin to consider the effect a Picasso or a Warhol might have on their living environment. A time when, for just $5, students can appreciate the mastery of many wonderful artists. That time is Art Rental.

In 1940 Emeritus Professor of Art Ellen Johnson established the Art Rental program. Her belief was that to truly understand a piece of art, one has to be in its presence and experience it for an extended period of time. She wanted students to have a chance to do just this before they entered the real world, where works of art can run for thousands of dollars.

Fifty-eight years later Oberlin maintains this tradition by having an Art Rental Committee. Along with the museum's Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, the committee is responsible for acquiring new pieces to be rented. There are around 400 pieces in the collection.

This Fall features the addition of two new, particularly exciting pieces: Kiki Smith's "Yes," and Matt Anderson's "The Christmas Swim."

To be sure, we live in an age of reproduction where prints that don't look that different from their originals can be purchased fairly cheaply. These reproductions can be found on almost everyone's walls - whether in postcard, calendar, or poster form. But no one can deny that there is something to be said for having the real thing.

Although not everyone on campus is a hard core Art Rentalist, the art does tend to go fast. And those who are die-hards can camp out the night before to ensure first dibs on their object of desire.

Though students in the past were allowed to camp in the courtyard, last year they were asked to sleep outside the gate. This semester will probably be no different. In response to the commotion that generally surrounds this event Lucille Stiger, registrar for Allen Memorial Art Museum, said, "It's a fun couple of days because the students are really excited about the art work - it keeps all of us on our toes."

It's also interesting to watch the trends in taste. For example, the first five pieces to go last fall were fairly different from the spring. Last Fall the top five, from first to fifth, were Pablo Picasso's "Le Jouer de Flute," Douglas Kinsey's "Winged Figures," "Fougre au Chapeau" by Jean Dubuffet, "Untitled, Number 1" by Keith Haring and Marc Chagall's "Untitled, from Arabian Nights." Only two of those five artists made the top five the following spring - Picasso and Chagall - joined by J. Kathleen White, Jackson Pollock and Pierre Auguste Renoir.

So gear up, get ready, and start thinking. It's time to decorate that room and Art Rental is almost here.

Art Rental Preview is Wednesday, September 16 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Rental for students begins Thursday, September 17 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Open rental is on Friday, September 18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.