It is pretty difficult to go into the new Munday Library without seeing the 13×13 painting on the first floor to the right of the main entrance. Commissioned specifically for St. Edward’s University and one of the library’s latest additions, the art piece has sparked an intense, often negative dialogue across campus and social media.

“I’ve found the comments very comforting. It tells me that St. Edward’s students are looking and engaging in the art,” Melba Whatley, chair of the facilities committee, said.

The facilities committee commissioned Dana Frankfort, a Houston native and current professor at Boston University in the College of Fine Arts, for the piece with the help of a consultant, Wingarten Art Group. Frankfort earned her bachelor’s degree at Brandeis University and her Master of Fine Arts from Yale University.

One of the complaints voiced frequently on social media was that someone from the St. Edward’s community did not paint the art on display in the library. Whatley said that the committee only considered artists suggested by the consultant and a student or faculty member was never an option.

“It was frankly never a topic that we took up,” Whatley said. “It would have been a conflict of interest.”

But some students saw a missed opportunity to showcase St. Edward’s talent and attract new Hilltoppers.

“It would have been a great talking point for tour guides when showing prospective students around the campus,” Tyler Riola, graduate student who also attended St. Edward’s for his undergraduate degree, said.

The committee included, among others, President George Martin, Vice President for Financial Affairs, Rhonda Cartwright and Pat Munday. Munday, who the library is named after, along with her husband donated $13 million dollars for the library renovation project.  Although Whatley would not disclose the library art budget, she said it was “tight” and allocated from the Munday’s donation.

Aside from size, the facilities committee gave Frankfort few guidelines for the project, and Frankfort appreciated the freedom. Frankfort spent about a year talking with St. Edward’s and planning the project, but the physical work took about three months. On April 18, 2013 Frankfort visited the university and interacted with the St. Edward’s community to get a better understanding of the university as a whole.

“It really felt like a community. That sounds really cliché but it’s true. Everything was so well thought out. Everyone was incredibly friendly to me,” Frankfort said. “I fell in love with St. Edward’s.”

Senior Josh Phillips  attended the luncheon with Frankfort, but he does not understand how the St. Edward’s community inspired the final product hanging in the library.

“More than words I understand, but I’m not a fan of the piece. I’m not impressed,” Phillips said. “I thought we were a bright, standout culture, not a faded one.”

Frankfort said that her color scheme was inspired by the large windows that the library would have and the architecture of buildings such as Hunt, Le Mans and Johnson Halls that bring the exterior inside of St. Edward’s.

Other complaints that students have made about the artwork on social media include that the piece looks unfinished, is illegible and other negative feedback.

“Bottom line is no matter what we say, they’re not going to take it down,” Riola said.

Frankfort does not find the negative commentary disheartening. In fact, she thinks it is good that people are expressing their opinions.

“I think that’s terrific that people are talking about it. I see the painting as the beginning of the dialogue,” Frankfort said.