by Jennifer Hoyt and Annette Finley-Croswhite

Maybe as you've walked around the Learning Commons in Perry Library lately, you've seen the 6.9 miles of colorful cotton thread stretched toward the ceiling and pondered what it was? Maybe you've marveled at the sheer number of threads and questioned how it was assembled. Once you realized you were looking at an art installation called the Patterns of Love, maybe you reflected on your own feelings about love.

Starting in the summer of 2022, ODU Libraries welcomed the Monarch community to view the Patterns of Love art display featured in Perry Library. Created by artist Kim McCoy under the guidance of associate professor John Roth, the installation is intended to engage viewers in thinking about different kinds of love . McCoy's art includes the use of steel, manila rope, cotton thread, and acrylic and cotton textiles.

Kim McCoy encourages students to visit the art in Perry Library this spring and to submit their interpretations of the three separate pieces via a short survey (coming soon). Once the submissions are entered and collected, McCoy will print them out and creatively place the student interpretation entries on display near the artwork.

We hope faculty will encourage students to participate and experience the artwork. A QR code will be available soon which will hopefully lead to student participation and exploration next semester. Some faculty might even consider incorporating a visit to the installation into spring semester course work. And if you have never contemplated seriously how love is visualized or you feel the need to evaluate your own feelings about love, wander over to Perry Library to experience the Patterns of Love for yourself.

• View Patterns of Love in the Learning Commons at Perry Library
• Share your interpretations & reflections via a Survey in Spring '23 (coming soon!)