The stairwell walls of Wayne State University parking structure No. 4, located across the street from Scott Hall and the Lande Building, are getting a creative makeover courtesy of the School of Medicine's Student Art Committee.
The new murals will replace the previous artwork painted in 2012.
Phase one of the new project was completed Dec. 3. Phase two, tentatively scheduled for Dec. 10, will see the artists completing the detail work and finishing touches.
"For this initial project we are only focusing on the first two floors, as we felt we could do more justice that way rather than spreading ourselves too thin," said second-year medical student Ahsan Mir, who heads the committee. "Future murals may be planned. The hope is future classes will add to the floors above. During my M4 year, I hope to add more designs too as time permits."
Mir designed the new first-floor mural.
"My subject matter was based on anatomy, the cornerstone of any medical education and one of my favorite courses," he said. "The poses were chosen to show most angles of male and female anatomy and to give viewers a taste of how intricate the inner workings of our bodies are, and also to show that below our skin, we look very much the same."
The latter sentiment, he said, was inspired by Boston-based artist Danny Quirk.
First-year medical student Gigi Statzer designed the second-floor mural, which she based on the city's famous "Spirit of Detroit" sculpture and the School of Medicine's emblems and coat of arms.
"We felt that the stairwell deserved something more iconic and related to medical education and the Wayne State University School of Medicine. We also wanted to focus on projects that could be completed in a timely manner and not left incomplete. Finally, we wanted to lay the groundwork for future classes to bring their inspiration and contribute to the growing mural," Mir said.
About 15 students were involved in the first phase of painting, including Mir, Statzer, Hieu Doc Hong, Aimee Vos, Faiz Khaja, Leigh Durudogan and several volunteers from the school's Co-Curricular Programs.