Caricatures of Themselves: Student's Mural Pays Tribute to Teachers

Brian Meulener, artist and fourth-year student, poses in front of his mural, a patchwork of faculty caricatures.

The professor was depicted as a character from “The Simpsons,’’ seated on the family couch next to little sister Maggie.

Students immediately recognized him as Dr. Steven Singer, interim chair of RSDM’s Department of Diagnostics Sciences. And he recognized himself, too.

“The artist did a good job,’’ said Singer, referring to Brian Meulener, a fourth- year student and former art director who traded his job for dental school. “What I like best is that there’s nothing nasty or mean-spirited about it.”

The affectionate caricature of Singer was one of more than 40 renderings of RSDM faculty that Meulener completed over the years, often while doodling in class. Last month, he combined them to make a nine-foot mural for the National Arts Program for Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences art show.

The patchwork of portraits is both a tribute to his instructors and a parting gift. Meulener will graduate in May.

“All of these faculty members, you spend so much time with them, you really get know them,’’ he says.

Since its display, Meulener’s mural has drawn a steady stream of students, staff and faculty to admire his work and identify all his subjects.

While some of the caricatures are simple portraits drawn against a white background, others are set in the classroom or have an element of fantasy.

There’s Dr. Harry Zohn as the tooth fairy, flying through the stars with his molar wand — a reference to his Halloween costume¬ and Dr. Abhinav Wadkar, known for his patience and popularity with students, standing before a long line of jittery novices, presenting their dental molds for review.

Dr. Stephen Singer, far right, hangs out with the Simpson family in this illustration by Brian Meulener.

Meulener drew Singer as a Simpson because of his penchant for sneaking Simpson references into his lectures.

“There’s a lot of inside jokes in these,’’ says Meulener.

So far at least, no one in the mural has objected. “Most people are amused, although one or two people might have been slightly horrified,’’ he joked. “There was one professor who thought I made him too skinny and another who thought I should have included her teeth. But everyone seems to like it.’’

Dr. Mahnaz Fatazahdeh was a fan of her caricature. “It was very perceptive.  He even captured how many ID tags I have, many more than most faculty. No one else notices that. I think he’ll be a good dentist because of his attention to detail,'' she said.

Before he enrolled at RSDM, Meulener was a professional artist  and illustrator. But he grew dissatisfied with his job at an ad agency, where he worked on ads for pharmaceutical companies and longed for something new. “It was too corporate,’’ he explains.

His father, Carlos Meulener, is also a dentist – and a 1979 RSDM alum --  so Meulneur decided to give dentistry  a try.

After graduation, he plans to work in his father’s practice in Little Silver. But he’ll also continue creating art. Despite his hectic dental school schedule, he was still able to pursue it as a sideline. In the spring, he’ll be publishing an illustrated children’s book about the Easter Bunny.

A good caricature, says Meulener, is challenging because it must exaggerate the subject’s most defining characteristics but not be unflattering or snarky.

For Meulener, some subjects are easy to caricature, while others are more elusive.

“Some of them have characteristics that are so unique, you can get it right away,’’ he explains. “Other people, I can draw them over and over and it’ll never look like them. The ones you get in under a minute are always the most successful.”

Although his mural features so many faculty members, many aren’t displayed because Meulener didn’t have room for them or thought they could have been better. He regrets that he couldn’t include them all. “Those illustrations represent a small cross section of the faces we have seen over the past four years. No matter what degrees, titles or positions they hold, they have each helped shape us as dental students. I appreciate all they have taught me.”