Site-specific public art can be seen on campus this week as the culmination of an interdisciplinary course called "Where Here Is."

All installations but one will end Dec. 16, according to associate art professor Robin Hill, who taught the class through the Department of Art and Art History.

Thanks to the enthusiasm of the arboretum staff, "A Room With a View," a camera obscura housed in structure that looks like a small shack, will remain open to the public through the holidays, she said.

Working under Hill's guidance the students collaborated to fabricate five public art works that focus on the idea of the local.

By mining each site for meaning -- social, cultural, aesthetic, historical -- these works of art are focused on the transformation of site to place, Hill says.

The collaborative teams included students from studio art, art history, landscape design, geology, psychology and technocultural studies.

Here are the project names and locations:

"Common Ground" on the Quad

The students who created this project chose to embrace the dynamics of collaboration as their theme by creating a giant nest with four parts. They will perform scheduled daily tasks that mirror the social interaction of the community during the installation.

The student team includes Luz Sanchez, Alexander Laracuente, Julie Johnson and Catherine Meyers.

"A Room With a View" in the UC Davis Arboretum on the north side of Lake Spafford

This project is a walk-in camera obscura that allows the viewer to see a projection of the landscape just outside. Historically used as a tool for painters in the 17th century, this sculpture provides an ephemeral optical experience, one that transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary.

The student team includes Mary Yurkutat, Kristin Parker, Traian Iosif and Tracey Link.

"String Rain" in the breezeway between Memorial Union and Freeborn Hall

This project investigates the drain structures of the Memorial Union by inserting string configurations where rain would fall. This whimsical sculpture draws on the pre-existing design to create compelling and unexpected geometric configurations in space.

The schedule is as follows:

Friday, Dec. 14: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Cocoa Chat Cafe

Sunday, Dec. 16: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Cocoa Chat Cafe

The student team includes Maria Toupadakis, Torres Keyna, Mark Miller and Carissa Buschmann.

"A Face to a Building" for Mrak Hall, Dutton Hall, Freeborn Hall, Shields Library and Cowell Student Health Center

Large-scale masks worn by the collaborators themselves serve as portraits of the men and women whose names grace many UC Davis buildings, such as Mrak, Dutton, Shields and Cowell. Spectators will have the opportunity to have their picture taken with the live performers and to consider the notable contributions they made to the community during their tenure.

The schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, Dec. 11: 1 p.m. in front of Shields Library, 2 p.m. Mrak Hall's north entrance

Wednesday, Dec. 12: 1 p.m. Freeborn Hall, 2 p.m. in front of Cowell Student Health Center, 3 p.m. in front of Dutton Hall

Thursday, Dec. 13: 1 p.m. Dutton Hall, 2 p.m. Freeborn Hall, 3 p.m. Cowell Student Health Center

The student team includes Anna Ng, Ryan Bulis and Serena Monts.

"Rudd's Rat Lab" at Kerr Hall

A nonhierarchical art exhibition in an abandoned space was the goal of this project. The students have resurrected a forlorn abandoned space in Kerr Hall to generate a feeling of community as well as a voice for underrepresented visual artists in the area.

"Their call to artists is part of their social experiment, and the final product will be as rich as the degree to which their call is responded to," Hill says.

A closing reception is planned at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14 , on the second floor of Kerr Hall. You can visit the student Web site for for images and updates. For information, contact Matthew Cool.

The student team includes Tyler McGinn, Matthew Cool, Tony Coppi and Stephanie Doeing.