By Carol Kim
The posters in the Art Print Sale in the Garden Court this week are free of images not appropriate for Brigham Young University students.
This semiyearly sale will be held the rest of this week in the Garden Court. The following week, Jan. 20 – Jan. 23, it will be moved to the third floor of the Bookstore in the textbook area.
The most popular posters that are sold are movies and Jack Vettriano artwork, which is famous for a couple dancing under an umbrella.
“I don”t choose what I sell,” said Valeriano Ugolini, an art and frame buyer for the Bookstore. “I choose the pictures that I don”t want to sell. People smoking, nudity, offensive gestures or drug related images are the ones we eliminate.
“We are committed to having something clean,” Ugolini said. “We have been doing this for many years.”
Roger L. Reynolds, Bookstore director, said the sale is a wonderful opportunity for the students and it provides appropriate material for our campus.
Ugolini said the Art Print Sale is in high demand and is frequently requested by students.
Each semester, he spends about an hour and a half screening new incoming posters.
“I think the choices of the posters are really nice,” said Alvina Kwong, a senior from Palosverdes, Calif. “I”m glad that they don”t have bad images because it is a religious school. Even though some BYU students try to be on the edge, the poster sale shows that they promote wholesome images. The screening of the posters prevent students from buying bad images.”
With the exception of a Bruce Lee poster showing his naked torso, which brought up few complaints, students have never made any major complaints about the images and blocking of controversial images.
Rowdy Symons, Bookstore creative services manager, said they do not make a lot of money off of this event, making the sale not for profits, but for the students.
Beyond the Wall, the business that provides the Bookstore with the posters, is paying for the Art Print Sale to be held in the Garden Court.
Ugolini said the posters, for the most part, are a service to students to give them the opportunity to decorate their room and to sell it at a cheaper price.
Bookstore officials said they wanted students to feel comfortable around their surroundings, especially for the students who are away from home for the first time.
