Eastern Michigan University’s 103rd homecoming events begin on Tuesday, Oct. 15, and run through Saturday, Oct. 19.
“With themes, if you only stick with them for one year, you lose that traditional feeling so we wanted to have something that would stand the test of time,” said Celia Murkowski, Homecoming Committee Chair, Director of Alumni Engagement, and EMU alum.
This year, EMU’s 2024 homecoming committee, the Division of Communications, and Swoop worked to create a unique campaign that incorporated the “Paint it Green” theme, homecoming, and EMU’s 175th anniversary.
“We thought: Why don’t we use historical paintings as a nod to Paint it Green and history and then put Swoop in those settings as our way of talking about EMU’s history,” said Darcy Gifford, Homecoming Committee Member and Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Communications.
Last year, EMU’s marketing team created various green paint chips for the EMU community to collect. This year, they created postcards with six variations of Swoop Eagle in iconic, historical paintings.
The EMU community can find Swoop’s art historical collection on these postcards around campus as well as yard signs, posters, banners, and table toppers.
The six paintings appropriated by Swoop include Grant Wood’s “American Gothic,” Frida Kahlo’s “Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird,” Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” René Magritte’s “The Son of Man,” and Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.”
With the help of EMU’s Division of Communications professional design team, Faith Parks, an EMU student designer, brought this idea to life. Parks began designing digital illustrations or “Swoop’s Versions” of the six paintings in April 2024, taking around two weeks to complete each piece.
Parks is a junior at EMU studying public health and health administration.
“This was a new project and art style for me so I was a bit nervous,” Parks said. “For this project, I tried not to force things.”
Swoop’s art history campaign was well-received by the EMU community as Swoop’s yard signs and postcards disappear around campus.
“Artistically, we see it as a compliment that people are taking and wanting them,” said Gifford.
EMU’s School of Art & Design has also shown support for Swoop’s work by posting to social media.
For the complete Homecoming 2024 event lineup, visit EMU’s website here.
