Cultural Collective: Art at BenU

Benedictine University, known for being one of the most diverse Catholic universities in

the country, is a veritable melting pot of the Midwest, with its student population comprised of a

large number of different races and religions. Part of the college experience is exposing young

adults to other cultures and ways of life, and one way to understand culture is through art. As a

wonderfully diverse university, Benedictine is proud to have an art collection, which recognizes

and showcases art pieces from many cultures, countries and religions.

In the early days of the art collection at Benedictine, most pieces were collected for use in

art history classes. At that time, the art history classes were more western-based, but over the

years, as the school gained more students from diverse backgrounds, the collection grew to

mirror the student population. Nothing represents Benedictine’s diversity better than its beloved

art collection, founded by the late curator Father Michael Komechak. Currently the collection is

curated by Professor Theresa Parker, who also serves as the director of the Father Michael E.

Komechak, O.S.B. Art Gallery, which showcases some of the standout pieces of the permanent

collection as well as an impressive variety of rotating exhibits presenting work by international,

national, and regional artists throughout the year. Tucked away behind the art gallery, Professor

Parker’s office is overflowing with statues, paintings, prints, and innumerable other works from

all over the globe, each one patiently waiting for it’s moment to shine.

Though Benedictine has amassed thousands of art pieces from many different countries

around the world, there are approximately 1,000 pieces of unknown origin. Parker states that

80% of the art collection is donated by former students, people who’ve studied with Fr. Michael,

and members of the community. As curator, Parker purchases pieces for the university as well.
She said, “I will purchase some things periodically when I think I’ve come across something that

seems really interesting or something we don’t have anything of.” As the university continues to

diversify in student population, Professor Parker uses the art collection to reflect and embrace

this coming together of cultures. From handcrafted Polish folk figures and African hand-carved

masks, to artifacts from the Mexican culture, the list goes on and on. Having numerous pieces

influenced by different religions and cultures and produced using a wide variety of art forms and

media, the collection has a lot to offer. Expertly curated to showcase art of all styles and

movements, the collection has something for every art lover and casual observer alike. From

surrealist abstraction to Japanese ink painting and everything in between, its impossible to walk

through the halls of Benedictine University without something catching one’s eye.

With an institution that is so culturally diverse, Professor Parker specifically wanted the

art collection to be representative of the cultures of its students. Benedictine scores almost twice

the national average when it comes to ethnic diversity among students. As a Catholic university,

Benedictine has its roots based in European culture, but well over one third of the student

population is Asian, Hispanic/Latino, and Black or African American. “Predominantly [the art is

from] the Americas; we have some Asian works, European,” Professor Parker said. There are

many pieces in the collection, a total of 4,000. And “1,000 works in the collection are unknown

out of the 4,000, because they are things that people picked up somewhere on a travel trip... I’ve

got things from Greece, Egypt, it’s everywhere.” Over the last few years, Professor Parker has

added more Native American pottery and photography to the collection and is also trying to

bring in pieces from the South Pacific and China.

What started as art “displayed in the hallways of the fourth floor in Old Ben Hall and

temporary exhibit spaces in display cases and hallways all around the campus,” has transformed
the entire university into a living art museum. “After the demolition of Ben Hall in 2004, Father

Michael began to disperse a portion of the collection throughout the campus and moved the rest

of the collection into a 900 square foot office space in Scholl Hall.” In 2009, Fr. Michael passed

away, but he always knew that his vision of a permanent gallery space at Benedictine University

would someday be realized.

When Fr. Michael knew he could no longer take care of the art collection by himself, he

called on Professor Teresa Parker, who was teaching in Benedictine’s Art Department at the

time. She had previously curated the art collection at Loyola University. In 2008, Fr. Michael

asked Professor Parker if she was up for the job. “I’d been waiting for something like this,” she

said of the offer. “I didn’t even hesitate...I felt like this was something I was supposed to do.”

She then began the task of cataloguing and organizing all the artwork on campus, and it was no

small feat. The art was scattered all over the university, so she would walk about campus all day

in search of new pieces.

In December of 2012, Fr. Michael's dream came true. Benedictine University announced

that an art gallery would be established in the name of Fr. Michael E. Komechak, O.S.B. and it

would be located on the fifth floor of the Kindlon Hall of Learning. On August 19, 2013, a

ribbon-cutting ceremony took place to commemorate the opening of the new, and much

anticipated, Fr. Michael E. Komechak, O.S.B. Art Gallery.”

Fr. Michael loved art, and collected art from wherever he could get it. Parker recalls how

Fr. Michael enjoyed art of all kinds. “He was in awe of the ability of the person to create.” The

collection was meant to be an educational tool with the art reflecting the different art classes

offered on campus, some of which he himself taught. Father Michael leaned towards Eastern

European art to pay homage to the roots of the Catholic university as well as his Czech and
Slovak background. Fr. Michael was fascinated with the idea of being able to create something,

and using that ability as a means to spread joy; he wanted to share his appreciation of art with

those around him.

With the great size, diversity and variety of this collection that is shared with the

Benedictine community, one can imagine the tremendous amount of planning and effort entailed

in the preparation and organization of its display. Organizing artwork here at Ben U is more than

just placing art pieces in the halls, and Professor Parker spoke about her thematic organization of

the exhibits. First, she looks at the collection as a whole and assesses its strengths, and the

number of works in a category like painting or ceramics. She then determines how many of those

pieces have been seen in the public eye or have just been sitting in the storage. “Then I decide

what work to show based upon what I know about the artworks' previous locations on campus, if

the works have been seen a lot or little," said Professor Parker. When deciding which building

each piece should be shown in, Professor Parker must first determine which areas of the building

she can display pieces, and then decide what style and theme of artwork should go into that

building.

There are thousands of pieces that Benedictine owns, and when deciding what pieces to

hang, the decision often comes down to whether or not the piece is already framed. When the art

gets framed, Professor Parker will then rotate the artwork into display. The most important and

valuable pieces in the collection will only be displayed in the 5th floor art gallery, where the

temperature and humidity are controlled.

To display the artwork, there are multiple themes aptly assigned to each building. For

example, the Birck Hall of Science logically features art dealing mostly with the themes of

nature, animals, and abstraction. Within Birck Hall is the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum, where
Professor Parker has displayed artwork with science-related subject matter of nature or animals,

because the many children who tour the museum love to look at the art. Scholl Hall, where all art

classes are taught, showcases mainly artworks created by Benedictine art teachers. The newest

building on campus, the Daniel L. Goodwin Hall of Business, features a selection of artwork that

has been organized into the following categories: Second Floor: Chicago and Vicinity Artists,

Third Floor: National Artists, and Fourth Floor: International Artists. Here, one can find a full

array of art ranging from a woodblock print of Harriet Tubman by African American artist and

Du Sable Museum founder Margaret Burroughs, as well as a geometric print by leading

American Op artist Richard Anuszkiewicz.

The American art collection features pieces from many well-known artists. Father

Michael liked flat geometric abstraction, which can be found in the lower level of Birck Hall. He

also admired the Chicago Imagists, a group of 1960’s era artists who were influenced by popular

culture as well as Surrealism and Outsider Art. Some of the most important artists from this

movement include Ed Paschke, a good friend of Fr. Michael, and Roger Brown, whose works

can be found on the second floor of Goodwin Hall.

Since Kindlon Hall of Learning functions as the heart of the campus, with its Library, St.

Benedict Chapel and Campus Ministry, and Komechak Art Gallery, in addition to various

classrooms, offices, and eating spaces, it serves as a central hub for many types of art to be

showcased and easily viewed by faculty, staff and students. The art displayed in Kindlon Hall

ranges in religion, country of origin, and media. The back entrance, facing the quad, is lined with

outsider art pieces created by artists without formal training, as well as South Asian religious art.

Moving towards the Atrium, one can see a wooden carving by Abbot Pattison of Mary holding

Jesus, two statues of Buddha from Asia, African tribal masks, and Indian paintings of the Hindu
god, Krishna. At the opposite entrance, visitors are greeted with photography produced by a

variety of artists from different cultures and time periods. Every floor of Kindlon Hall boasts a

wide array of work from various regions, including Asia and Native America. The art is grouped

together based on theme and style, but each of the pieces are different and unique, just like

Benedictine.

Because Professor Parker believes that “art represents the relationship between people

and place,” she has developed self-guided walking tours for Goodwin, Kindlon, Birck and Scholl

Halls.. “This four building art walking tour serves a public venue highlighting a rarely viewed,

dynamic collection of artwork” for all to enjoy. At the main entrance of each building, visitors

can pick up brochures that lead them through the halls and inform them about the art, much like

a true art museum.

Peering down Kindlon Hall, students are drawn to the large ceramic mural leading them

through a historical timeline of their school. Commissioned by the Diocese of Joliet as a gift to

the Benedictine monks, the enthralling, detailed mural tells the story of the Benedictine monks,

who originally came to Lisle to transform what was previously an uninspiring cornfield into the

St. Procopius abbey as well as an institution with the goal of educating local community

members.

Having taught classes themselves, education was one way they sought to follow their

closely held motto: That in all Things God May be Glorified. The environment at Benedictine

University has greatly evolved since its founding in 1901, but the tenets that guide the school’s

direction have remained. One Benedictine monk’s passion for the art of creation and curation

powerfully exemplifies the Benedictine Hallmarks of community and Hospitality, by embracing

and celebrating the diversity of mankind through the universal language of art.
These hallmarks aspire to foster a call to openness and service to the common good along with

respect for the individual, to create an awareness of the journey of man and the global

experience. The diverse art collection, founded and curated by the late Father Michael

Komecheck and lovingly cared for by current curator Professor Teresa Parker, is aimed to do just

that. “It’s just broadening horizons,” Parker states, “that’s what a university’s supposed to be

about and that’s part of the reason why I like being in a university situation…There’s just an

awful lot of ways to look at art, and enjoy it, and appreciate it, and Fr. Michael and I kind of

share that same sort of sentiment, [I’m] trying to create an opportunity for those things to occur.”