KINGSTON, R.I.–September 17, 2018–The University of Rhode Island Harrington School of Communications and Media will honor the public art of local artists Erica Carpenter and Erik Carlson, both of Cranston, in the Harrington Hub Friday, Sept. 21 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Their piece, titled “FREEZE,” is displayed in the Harrington Hub in Ranger Hall. FREEZE takes the form of a room-wrapping text stream featuring 125 “who” questions drawn from student journalistic publications spanning URI’s 126-year history. The artwork’s multilayered volley of questions stands in response to a type of text frieze common to academic architecture. The piece took about seven and a half months to complete.

“FREEZE is about the work of questioning and the role that it has always had to play in negotiating the world around us,” the artists said in a statement. “These questions, which all begin with ‘who,’ reflect the critical role that a student’s university experience plays in forming the person they will become. Meanwhile the artwork’s form, which spans the room in the manner of a CNN news crawl, reflects the relentless, unstable streams of information brought home to us by digital media and the 24-hour news cycle.”

The event will celebrate two local internationally-recognized artists, but also to celebrate the University’s commitment to public art, said Film Media and Journalism Professor Kendall Moore, an event organizer.

“Public art has the ability to bring a particular aesthetic experience to a communal space,” Moore said. “It’s an opportunity for dialogue to cross all barriers, and it also celebrates the fact that art must play a role in providing a reflection of who we are to ourselves.”

The event will give students, faculty and community members a chance to view the art, connect with the artists and enjoy light refreshments. Philosophy Professor Cheryl Foster will be the keynote speaker.

Emma Gauthier, a student writer in the URI Marketing and Communications Department and a journalism major, wrote this press release.