Larry Speck has spent nearly fifty years problem-solving, teaching, and advancing the study of architecture at The University of Texas at Austin. A staple of UT’s School of Architecture, Speck teaches more than a thousand students each year, including 100 incoming freshmen in the undergraduate studies class Creative Problem Solving, and 900 students in Architecture and Society.
Learning with Landmarks
Learning with Landmarks is a dedicated blog series highlighting the unique and innovative ways that students and other scholars use the collection. Landmarks’ blog, Latest, features timely updates on new installations, public programs, event announcements, volunteer and internship opportunities, and a range of other initiatives. To view the entire series, click the button below.
This summer Landmarks welcomed students from the UT Prep program, organized by UTeach Outreach. The program aims to increase access to STEM-based educational opportunities for students from underserved communities and backgrounds. Learn more about the workshop and activities in Landmarks Blog.
Research shows that looking at art is a proven technique for stress relief. Landmarks’ collection, including James Turrell’s Skyspace, The Color Inside, offers space for contemplation and opportunities for relaxation every day. Earlier this summer, we spoke with Dr. Rosa Schnyer, (DAOM, IFMCP, L.AC.) a doctor of Chinese medicine, functional clinician, and professor in the School of Nursing who uses Landmarks’ in her teaching and practice. In her seminar at UT Austin, “The Science of Mindfulness, the Art of Attention”, Dr. Schnyer focuses on actionable techniques to lower and manage stress. In this blog she spotlights the research behind mindfulness and wellness practices for her students, including the benefits of engaging with art.
In May, Landmarks partnered with the Fitness Institute of Texas for a movement-infused tour of the collection. Landmarks’ education intern, Abby Drake, reflects on the tour and recounts the innovative ways the collection inspired physical activity and movement.
This semester, I had the great privilege of working with Mk Haley and her students for the course, Themed Entertainment Design. As part of this Arts and Entertainment Technologies class, Professor Haley challenged her students to reimagine what an art tour could look like using highly engaging tools from gaming models. With Landmarks as their inspiration and the renegade tours of Museum Hack as their guide, each student chose a work in the collection and applied the principles of “Games, Guides, and Gossip”:
Landmarks recently announced the return of Sound in Sculpture, our annual collaboration with the Butler School of Music and Texas Performing Arts. In advance of the program, we sat down with one of this year’s composers, Thomas Rodriguez. A 3rd year undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Minor in Arts Management and Administration, Rodriguez wrote a work inspired by Joel Perlman’s Square Tilt.