February 2025
"[The] idea was to carve the block [of Styrofoam] into a six-foot-long packing peanut,
titled 'Big Nuisance.' "
Sustainability in the Classroom:
Art & Design and a Giant Packing Peanut titled "Big Nuisance"
UVU Art and Design students Maya Buck, Ben Caldwell, Jacob Coomer, and Maddie Smith created a graphic design piece and stickers during fall semester 2024 that serve as companions to the Department of Art and Design's 2022 publication, UTopia: State of Abstraction.
[Image text] In spring 2021, nine sculpture students were given the challenge to create ideas for transforming a large, styrofoam block. Each proposal had to visually encompass the student's reaction to humanity's interaction with their environment. The selected proposal would then be sculpted by the entire class.
Aaron Parker's idea was unanimously chosen by the class. His idea was to carve the block into a six-foot-long packing peanut, titled 'Big Nuisance.' The class worked collaboratively over seven weeks to finish the piece. The sculpture was so difficult to work with that the students had to use a chainsaw to cut the styrofoam.
"The idea behind the piece was to scale up something small and insignificant in order to escalate it to something significant. While the piece is definitely about our impact on the environment to some degree, my original idea was more interested in appreciating the unappreciated, and exploring the fact that scale matters." - Aaron Parker, student sculptor.
For 2021's fine art book project, four additional students traveled around the state of Utah documenting 'Big Nuisance' in the wild. The resulting images can be found in UTopia: State of Abstraction created by the Department of Art and Design.
[Image text] What's the big deal, a packing peanut made of styrofoam? Well, this one is over six feet tall. "I think the piece works because it is so large, so easy to see and to understand, I hope that when people see it, they won't have any choice but to reflect on their effect on the Utah landscape and to take action" - Kenya Heiner, Student Sculptor.
Humans leave behind a mark on their environment long after they are gone. "Man and nature belong together in their created glory - in their tragedy and in their salvation." - Paul Tillich, Philosopher.
Mundane to Meaningful
Big Nuisance may not have been born as a critical commentary, but it soon grew into a statement on humanity's impact on the planet. It started with a big block of foam, a challenge, and artistic inspiration from something quite small and seemingly mundane: a packing peanut.
The art of juxtaposition invites the viewer to more deeply connect with the seemingly invisible. Take something small and make it comically large, so we can see it for the many things that it is: a lightweight, inexpensive, innovative way to protect goods, but also a source of water/land pollution.
Evolution of a Statement
By photographing the completed sculpture against the iconic Utah landscapes and giving it the name Big Nuisance, the team of artists layered additional meaning that, perhaps unknowingly, evoked a call to action for some viewers, or a least a call to reflection. What is our duty as artists? As viewers? As humans? Does art owe allegiance to the planet, and what does artistic environmental ethics look like?
Role of EARTH
The earth has served as both medium and subject for ages of artists. From early cave art to plein-air paintings to social media photographs, the natural world has been, for artists, a tool for peace, perspective, and provocation.
"Big Nuisance" is currently on display on the second floor of Utah Valley University's Noorda Center for the Performing Arts.
Calendar of Events
*UVU-sponsored or -located events
FEBRUARY
*4 - Really Really Free Market | UVU Office for Global Engagement | 10:00a-2:00p | SB Atrium
*10-11 - Banff Mountain Film Festival | UVU Outdoor Adventure Center | tickets required
*15 - DEADLINE EXTENDED: Education Abroad Application | UVU Office of Education Abroad
*15 - EXHIBIT CLOSING DATE - Eugene Tapahe: Between the Worlds | UVU Museum of Art at Lakemount
*20 - Grow the Flow: Ski Movie Night | UVU Clubs | 6:00-9:00p | CB 101B
*27 - Campus Tour Series: Composting & Worms! | UVU Sustainability & UVU Grounds | 12:15-1:30p | DX - southeast outbuilding
27 - "Listen To Their Voices" film screening about the Great Salt Lake | Zions Independent Film Fest | 11:00a-1:00p | SCERA 745 S State St, Orem
MARCH
*10-11 - The Great Office Spring Cleanout | UVU Grounds, UVU Campus Services & UVU Surplus
*27 - Campus Tour Series: Outdoor Recreation | UVU Sustainability & UVU Outdoor Adventure Center | 12:00-1:00p | SL 216
*27 - Environmental Justice Event | UVU Center for Social Impact | 12:00-1:00p | Center Stage - Sorensen Center
APRIL
*TBD - Arbor Day Tree Planting | UVU Tree Advisory Committee & UVU Grounds | more information forthcoming
*12 - Nature's Heroes | Utah Valley Earth Forum (UVEF) | 2:00-4:00 pm | CB 101A
*16 - Native Garden Grand Opening | UVU College of Science & UVU Grounds | 3:00-5:00p | UVU Native Garden adjacent to ponds
*30 - Roots of Knowledge Series Themed Tour: Environmental History | Roots of Knowledge at the Fulton Library | more information forthcoming
Ongoing events at UVU:
Community Partners
Utah Lake Authority
National and Global
Feb 2 - World Wetlands Day | Mar 3 - World Wildlife Day | Mar 13 - US Overshoot Day | Mar 14 (2nd Friday) - Solar Appreciation Day | Mar 14 - Int'l Day of Action for Rivers | Mar 15 - World Consumer Rights Day | Mar 18 - Global Recycling Day | Mar 20 - UN Int'l Day of Happiness | Mar 20 - Spring Equinox | Mar 21 - World Planting Day | Mar 21 - Int'l Day of Forests | Mar 22 - World Water Day | Mar 23 - World Meteorological Day | Mar 29 (last Saturday) - Earth Hour
In the News/Dashboard
Pedestrian Bridge : Average daily* crossings in January: ~1109 (*class days only) {Source: udottraffic.utah.gov}
Bike Rack Count: Average mid-day count in January of bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, etc. parked at selected racks along main campus corridor: 56.5