CWRU and the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) are teaming up again-this time to create a little more culture for students living in campus housing.

The University Circle partners have bedecked six residence halls with about 75 prints of standard works from the museum, adding "spice to an otherwise ordinary wall-scape," according to Sunjay Mathur, a freshman sociology and religion major who lives in Sherman House.

Four more halls will be decorated with drawings, painting and posters from the museum this summer.

"The artwork from the Museum of Art posted in the residence halls reconnects me to rich cultures and interesting people whom I may forget about during my routine," Mathur said. "I've found a renewed interest in artwork in general and look forward to spending significant time in the Cleveland Museum of Art.

"I'm also reminded of the terrific resources of University Circle and the terrific opportunities for learning about artwork, history and astronomy-to name just a few of the Circle resources-right here at Case," Mathur added.

The six houses now adorned with art are Norton, Raymond, Sherman, Smith, Taft and Tyler houses, all in the Mather II complex of the North Residential Village. Cutler, Pierce, Storrs and Hitchcock in the Adelbert Quad complex on the north campus are next.

The color art poster prints ranging in size from 11" x 14" to 38" x 50" hanging in common areas at the residence halls feature famous paintings and print works like Monet's "Water Lilies," Picasso's "The Painter," O'Keefe's "Sunflower" and Japanese artist Mitsuyoshi's "Phoenix & Paulownia."

The museum, in consultation with Brockman + Godfrey, the design team that recently remodeled the interiors of all ten residence halls, selected and placed each piece according to certain styles and themes, like restful landscapes and seascapes, including Homer's "Early Morning After the Storm," to match the soft blues and greens in Taft.

Don Kamalsky, assistant vice president for student affairs and director of housing, said this latest collaboration between CWRU and CMA seemed like a natural way to enhance the experience of students already living in a learning environment.

"We have a world class art museum less than a block away from our residence halls. Bringing examples of art work into the residence halls entices students to broaden their learning experience," Kamalsky said.

According to Nancy Vasse-Hansell at CMA, the prints posted in the residence halls are laminated to wood substrate material through a process called Plak-it, which protects them from damage. They are then secured to the wall and framed.

"It was very satisfying to find the right match between the artwork and the colors and feel of each residence hall," Vasse-Hansell said. "The students couldn't have been nicer to me while I was working, and their enthusiasm and comments seeing the artwork about to enliven their spaces really made me want to make the most thoughtful choices possible."

Inspiration for the artistic addition to campus housing came while Kamalsky; Rhonda Gross, CWRU's executive vice president and chief operating officer; and others were on benchmarking trips during the architect selection process for new residence halls, on which the University will break ground this year.

"On our travels to other campuses, I asked Don to add art work to the common areas of our residence halls. Over the last two years, we have enhanced the lobbies of the residence halls. The collaboration with CMA is a way to implement two parts of our vision--a better environment for our students and partnership with a UCI institution."

The University tapped what was left of a Hanna Artworks grant first used to decorate campus housing with works of art in the 1960s and 1970s. Kamalsky said if a new source of funding is found, the University would like to extend the project to include all residence halls.

"I think the artwork in the lobby is great. It's very creative and unique to the area," said Amanda Bachmann, a freshman biology major living in Raymond House. "The Cleveland Museum of Art has most of the originals, so it's definitely an incentive to go and visit the museum."

Institutions interested in adding artwork to their walls, can select virtually any piece in the museum's collection. Prices for prints range from $5 to $60 depending on size. Some custom pieces can cost as much as $300. For more information, contact Vasse-Hansell at 216-707-2496.