UI Mural Project Catches Eye of Moscow Historic Preservation Commission
Monday, June 25 2001
June 25, 2001^MOSCOW – David Giese, Val Carter and Marie Whitesell will receive Orchid Awards from the Moscow Historic Preservation Commission next month for their collaborative efforts to preserve a portion of University of Idaho history.^ Giese, UI art professor; Whitesell, 1939 alumna; and Val Carter, artist and part-time UI art instructor will be honored during the Moscow Arts Commission’s Fresh Aire Concert Series showcase Thursday, July 12, at East City Park in Moscow. Music starts at 6:30 p.m., and recipients will receive certificates at 7 p.m. or shortly thereafter. ^ Whitesell fully funded an operation headed up by Giese and Carter, who worked to preserve four large murals from the now-demolished U-Hut on the Moscow campus. Giese came up with the proposal that ultimately saved the murals and received no monetary compensation for his work.^ “The Moscow Historic Preservation Commission feels these murals are historically significant as examples of public art funded through the Depression-era Works Progress Administration, and locally significant because they were created at UI using local subjects,” says Jack Porter, chair.^ The Idaho WPA murals were created in 1936 by UI students Frank Newton, Herb Steiniger, Lester Walker and May Talbott under the direction of UI art faculty member Mary Kirkwood. The WPA was a component of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.^Whitesell, an avid UI supporter and artist, was present when the murals were created, and also became friends with the student artists. This is just one of many projects she has supported in the Department of Art. She also is a former recipient of the Jim Lyle Award, which honors living individuals who have demonstrated long-term dedication and service to the university and/or Alumni Association through volunteerism. ^UI history Professor Carlos Schwantes also will receive an Orchid Award for his devotion to teaching regional history, writing several books on Idaho and Pacific Northwest history, steam-era transportation and life on the “wage-earner frontier.”^ The Moscow Historic Preservation Commission annually presents the Orchid Awards to individuals who have contributed greatly to historic preservation in the community. ^Contact: David Giese, art professor, (208) 885-5890, dgiese@uidaho.edu or Leslie Einhaus, University Communications and Marketing, ^(208) 885-6489, lesliee@uidaho.edu ^-30-^le-6/25/01-AAR^
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