NWA Times: FHS celebrates 10 years of da Vinci

BY BRETT BENNETT, Northwest Arkansas Times

Fayetteville High School librarians and art teacher John Remmers celebrated the 10th anniversary of the painting of Leonardo da Vinci by the library entrance Wednesday evening.

The mural, “Leo in Our Library,” was designed with da Vinci standing in front of a bookshelf.

Most of the books on the shelves within the painting were left untitled when it was painted. Over the years, students have been allowed to write in titles of books they have read.

Remmers said the painting is distinguished from other murals in the school by “the fact that it isn’t finished after all these years.” There are still a few books left that can be filled in with new titles.

“Also, you’ve had so many non-art students who’ve been able to participate,” he said.

The image of da Vinci was derived from an image of him in the painting “The School of Athens” by Raphael, according to librarian Sarah Roberson. The bookshelf concept was derived from an advertisement portraying cats in front of a bookshelf.

Titles added to the mural include classic fiction, modern literature and religious texts such as the Bible and Koran. Some of the titles include “Lord of the Flies,” “Out of Africa,” “Something Under the Bed is Drooling” and “The Cat in the Hat.”

Author Terry Trueman signed his faux copy of “Stuck in Neutral” on the bookshelf when he visited the school this year.

School board member Susan Heil, who attended the reception, read a proclamation from Mayor Dan Coody declaring Wednesday “John Remmers Day.”

Roberson and fellow librarian Cassandra Barnett said all of the titles are real books with a few exceptions that have been allowed. One of the exceptions is “The Jedi Creed” by a student who was a “Star Wars” fan.

“They refer to it in ‘Star Wars’ like a real book,” Roberson said.

Another phony title is a student’s way of paying homage to the art teacher. It is titled “The Wrath of Remmers.”

There has been much debate on the future of the school building and location, and mural preservation is a detail that hasn’t escaped the staff ’s attention. Last month, the school board received, but took no action on, a committee’s recommendation to relocate the school from its current location on Stone Street to 73 acres along Morningside Drive.

Barnett said they hope to hire a billboard company to make a replica of the da Vinci mural so if the school is moved a copy of it can be placed on the wall at the new library.

The da Vinci mural is one of many in the school that has been painted by art students over the years. Staff hope to make a digital record of those murals.

Other murals include Superman exiting a phone booth by the auditorium, a painting with an immigration theme in the cafeteria, and a mural with angelic and demon-like figures fighting near the main office.

The school’s Bulldog Lobby by the front entrance features a mural showing cultural changes throughout history wrapped around a handicap ramp and a torch with the school’s motto under the main staircase.

Remmers said he has been asked frequently about mural preser vation but hasn’t developed a strong opinion on it.

“I guess I have to subscribe to impermanence,” he said.

The last mural officially done as a class project was a life sciences mural on the third floor in 2006. Remmers said the 2006-07 schedule change from a sixperiod to seven-period day took away class time that could be devoted to mural projects.