Student Name: Graham Atherton
Project Title: The Ramp
Project Title: The Ramp
Project Description:
The Ramp, as it is colloquially known to CFA students, is one of the most peculiar and fascinating spots on campus. I think what makes it so interesting to me is that BU hasn’t figured out how to make money off it yet, so it just sits there. Once they realize some revenue potential, they’ll turn it into a slip-n-slide or something. For now, it just collects detritus from staff and students. It’s a fascinating collection of artifacts on the ramp ranging from abandoned fine art projects to boxes of ceiling tiles and air filters. It seems like this is the place people go to leave things they don’t need now but may want later.
I have spent hours and hours wandering the ramp now, and even though I’m usually the only person there, I do occasionally cross paths with other pilgrims: a COM student playing guitar, an a cappella group rehearsing, an undergrad assembling a sculpture, a custodian exiting her closet. Even when I see no one (which is more common than not) there is still evidence of activity. A new graffiti tag here, a smashed television there. I try to go every day so I can see what has changed overnight. I find myself imagining who might have left the bottle of Fiji water on the fifth floor or who repositioned the little oil painting on the third floor. It’s interesting how much I want there to be a narrative behind every weird little detail. I want the graffiti to have meaning, but I’m sure a lot of it doesn’t.
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The Ramp, as it is colloquially known to CFA students, is one of the most peculiar and fascinating spots on campus. I think what makes it so interesting to me is that BU hasn’t figured out how to make money off it yet, so it just sits there. Once they realize some revenue potential, they’ll turn it into a slip-n-slide or something. For now, it just collects detritus from staff and students. It’s a fascinating collection of artifacts on the ramp ranging from abandoned fine art projects to boxes of ceiling tiles and air filters. It seems like this is the place people go to leave things they don’t need now but may want later.
I have spent hours and hours wandering the ramp now, and even though I’m usually the only person there, I do occasionally cross paths with other pilgrims: a COM student playing guitar, an a cappella group rehearsing, an undergrad assembling a sculpture, a custodian exiting her closet. Even when I see no one (which is more common than not) there is still evidence of activity. A new graffiti tag here, a smashed television there. I try to go every day so I can see what has changed overnight. I find myself imagining who might have left the bottle of Fiji water on the fifth floor or who repositioned the little oil painting on the third floor. It’s interesting how much I want there to be a narrative behind every weird little detail. I want the graffiti to have meaning, but I’m sure a lot of it doesn’t.
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