University of Iowa students tackle football through art

IOWA CITY — Elinor Krieger-Coble and Heidi Schickel had a field-level view Saturday as the Iowa Hawkeyes pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season, beating No. 2 ranked Michigan 14-13 at Kinnick Stadium.

The University of Iowa students were on the sidelines to catch all the action — in their sketchbooks.

Krieger-Coble and Schickel sketched the players, the fans, even the architecture of the stadium, as the first step in creating art for a public exhibit in January at the university.

From the sketches, the two women plan to create paintings and charcoal and graphite drawings for that exhibit, which is being coordinated by Steve McGuire, professor of art and art history, and Rick Klatt, interim director for special communications initiatives in the UI Office of the Vice President for Strategic Communications.

'In my mind, this provides students a unique experience,' said McGuire. 'It puts them in an arena, a stadium, where they are focusing their artistic efforts in a way they probably don't have the experience or opportunity to do in their normal university education.'

He said the thousands of fans create an interesting atmosphere in which to work.

'I think they take the atmosphere in and that helps them accomplish the work. Sketches done so far show people physically present in the stadium and the field. They have captured the atmosphere inside the stadium in a way you couldn't do through a photograph.'

McGuire said he is always pushing to explore collaborations and partnerships on campus. In this case, it's with the athletic department.

'We imagine this is going to be an ongoing project with different manifestations going forward,' he said.

Krieger-Coble, who graduates in December with a bachelor's degree in painting, expounded on the partnership.

'I think the idea was to bring two types of talent together ­­— athletics and arts — and just kind of work from there,' she said, adding she plans to work on about three to five pieces for the exhibit.

Schickel, a senior pursuing her bachelor's degree in painting and drawing, said she'll focus her energy on one large painting and additional smaller drawings if time permits.

Schickel did all of her sketching Saturday night at the Michigan game. Krieger-Coble also did some sketching earlier this season at the games versus Northwestern and Wisconsin.

'I found out about this from my adviser,' Krieger-Coble said. 'I thought this was pretty interesting. 'On the field, you don't realize how quick the game goes.'

After hearing about the project from McGuire, Schickel said she decided to jump in.

'It sounded like a great experience,' she said. 'I'm not used to drawing ... stuff that's moving, so that was challenging, but that was a pretty good time.'

Schickel said she has only attended a handful of games during her years at UI.

'The only football experience I really had was being in marching band in high school,' Schickel said, noting this influenced what she decided to sketch.

In particular, she focused on the band and the camera crews and photojournalists on the sidelines.

'I really enjoyed watching the camera people, and how they held their camera equipment and the way they moved and how fast they had to move to keep up with the game,' Schickel said. 'It's almost a sport for them.'

Krieger-Coble, on the other hand, focused has focused her sketches on the players, trying to gain a better understanding of the way bodies work, and how the players on the field move.

'These guys already have swagger and build, but when you add that padding, it's amplified,' she said.

Krieger-Coble comes from a football family, which means watching games is nothing new.

'I've seen five years of them at Iowa,' she said.

Henry Krieger-Coble, her brother, played as a tight end for the Hawkeyes from 2012-2015 and now plays on the practice squad for the Denver Broncos. Another family member, Krieger-Coble's cousin and UI senior George Kittle plays tight end for the Hawkeyes.

Krieger-Coble said being on the field has given her a close look at the emotions that take place during a game. When a play goes well, there's excitement; when things don't, there are tears and a bonding among the players. She hopes to capture that feeling of intensity in her art.

'Watching their faces, there's nothing like it,' Krieger-Coble said. 'It's hard to capture that intensity, but I want to.'

McGuire said the exhibit is to take place the week of Jan. 16 in the Visual Arts Building, 107 River St. in Iowa City. He said specific details of the exhibit are still being worked out.

'It's yet to be determined how they'll put together the exhibition,' McGuire said. 'They may have finished work, may have some of the sketches they've done, too.'

Whether or not the work is going to be for sale also is up in the air.

'That hasn't been determined yet,' said McGuire, 'but I suspect it may be.'