Students in Ewa Harabasz's Painting II class brought an underground art form to a space in East Sibley Hall as a class project this year.

Inspired by graffiti art, the 19 students taking the spring semester course produced their final project for the semester within a five-flight stairwell in Sibley.

Although it was a collective effort, the end result is considered one painting, said Harabasz, a visiting assistant professor of art. It also served as an alternative to the usual painting exhibition in Tjaden Hall.

"I had the idea for many semesters," she said. "I really had to push for people to do this project, and the administration needed to feel convinced before it could all happen."

Criteria for the project included incorporating contemporary subject matter, portraying life-sized human figures in action, and using three out of four available media -- acrylic paint, spray paint (and airbrushing), transfer images and stencils. One of the project goals was discovering the different media, Harabasz said.

The class completed five projects during the semester, ranging from classical oil painting to the use of experimental techniques, Harabasz said.

"We were doing a lot of new and unusual things," Harabasz said. "We also did everything a painting class is supposed to do. We used no Roman or Greek figures; we used things related to today's life."

The students prepared for the work for three weeks, making full-size sketches on paper and deciding what to paint in the stairwell. They worked from photographs and human figure studies from their other semester projects, which included painting two life-size figures in a moment of tension, painting from their photographs of a live model dressed as a construction worker, and representing a childhood memory.

"This is a very active and energetic group, with students from all over the world," Harabasz said. "I work with many universities, but this group is very talented, very bright."

Subjects the individual students painted in the stairwell include the Iraq war, nude figures, and religious and punk rock imagery. Independent thinking was encouraged, said Harabasz, who also monitored the project and ensured the students followed safety standards and used ventilation and safe types of paint.

"You're doing 'graffiti' and trying to do this representation of this illegal art, and trying to follow regulations at the same time. It was an interesting paradox," said Natalie Pierro, B.Arch. '09. "I think that's how we learned from the assignment, taking this illegal art and putting it through this more legalized process."

The students also petitioned College of Architecture, Art and Planning administrators -- interim Dean Stanley Taft, Associate Dean Peter Turner, Facilities Manager Charlie Pomada and Department of Art Chair Patricia Phillips -- to allow the class's work to remain on the wall.

"There were a lot of controversial opinions as to whether they were works of art while they were being done, but in the end I think people were impressed and overall it was seen as an improvement to the stairwell," Pierro said.

Harabasz said: "They want to see the painting as a statement stay on the wall. They enjoyed it so much; this is something they may remember for a long time."

A photo gallery of the stairwell project can be seen at http://www.aap.cornell.edu/aap/art/students/stairway-mural-gallery.cfm.