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Bold-colored artwork and unique sounds combine to symbolize the meaning of Transitions in the work of two University of Dayton students who transformed the Roesch Library stairwell.

The stairwell landings feature brightly-painted panels by senior Lisa Lorek, a visual communication design major, and instrumentation by junior Phil Titlebaum, a music major, produced through the UD Artist-in-Residence program. The summer program allows students to create original works of art for installation around campus, according to the ArtStreet website.

Lorek and Titlebaum lived at ArtStreet for 11 weeks this summer pursuing the finished project, Lorek said.

This piece is a study in transition, both in its subject matter and the way in which it is experienced, said Titlebaum, the original creator for the Transitions project, in his artist statement.

The staircase is a structure used to transition from a point of departure to a destination, while at the same time, a library acts as a chronicle of transition documenting the development of the human race, he said.

It allows a user to move between the different areas of knowledge that civilization has gathered and maintained throughout the existence of the human race, Titlebaum said.

Lorek said she created the artwork panels representing a transition through the full spectrum of the rainbow.

I envisioned the stairwell being alive and active with highly-saturated pigments and bold shapes, Lorek said in her artist statement.

The layout groups together panels of each color on each landing, from red up to violet. Smaller panels are used to foreshadow the next color as the energy and transition is captured through the change in color on each landing, she said.

Transitions is a sonic representation of its name, a dynamic-changing experience sculpted by perspective, Titlebaum said.

To illustrate a gradual shift, Titlebaum created two levels of sound that play on two different floors and together resonate through the stairway. He said he began with traditional sound in the first channel, created through acoustic instrumentation, marimba, guitar and vocals. This type of arrangement creates a calming atmosphere, something important for a library, he said.

The second channel of sound incorporates sound from the UD archives and the Marian Library, in addition to field recordings, synthesized sound and acoustic instrumentation, he said.

The transition from traditional to experimental music enabled Titlebaum to include sound from the UD archives, illustrating the universitys history and development, he said.

More of Loreks artwork is located in the Roesch Library ground floor stairs by the Ryan C. Harris Learning Teaching Center in a single representation of all of the colors.

This panel is a bit more chaotic, but appropriate when capturing the movement of one of the most traveled stairwells in the library, Lorek said.

A total of eight students participated in the 2011 UD Artist-in-Residence summer program developing art projects in seven campus buildings, including Albert Emanuel Hall, Alumni Hall and the College Park Center. The program has funded the installment of more than 200 original works of art in campus buildings developed by 34 undergraduate students since 2006, according to the ArtStreet website.

For more information about the Artist-in-Residence program, visit http://www.artstreet.udayton.edu/air.

Junior Phil Titlebaum, top, and senior Lisa Lorek, bottom, teamed up through the UD Artist-in-Residence program this summer to create artwork for the Roesch Library stairwell. Their work, collectively titled Transitions, consists of multiple paintings and arrangements of sound recordings.