For many years Professor David Helm has guided students of sculpture to interesting public art projects, so it came as no surprise to colleagues that the pandemic inspired him to even higher levels of creative innovation. In a riff on artist Nick Cave’s Sound Suits, UNO sculpture students created “quarantine suits.” They used a variety of materials that they had on hand, including plastic bags, yarn, tulle, reflective fabrics and fake flowers. 

Creating the suit was only one element of the project. Students then documented themselves in a variety of movements while wearing the suit at different locations. They learned that considerations of time and site impose different meanings on the final artwork, which in this case, were the photographs.  

Innovative professors like David Helm helped students create objects of great interest and beauty that also reflected the specific moment in time: a global pandemic.