Some may consider living in a trailer unrefined, but for others it can actually be art.

On Sunday evening, College of Creative Studies senior biology major Danna Shulman moved into a small mobile trailer that will serve as her home until this Friday at the earliest. The trailer, which is 9 feet long, 5 1/2 feet wide and 7 feet tall at the highest point, has been used by CCS art students to display their work around campus. She is living in the device, which she has placed outside of the University Art Museum, as a project for her CCS Independent Study in 3D class.

“There are students doing other projects, but not quite as ambitious as Danna,” said Jane Mulfinger, instructor of the class.

Shulman says that she was inspired by the LOT-EK Mobile Dwelling Unit, the red structure that is also on display outside the art museum. She even parodied the name LOT-EK in her piece’s name: Li-Vart Mobile Dwelling Unit.

“It’s making fun of LOT-EK, which I like. I’m also commenting on space in general, because I’m small and I’m making everything miniature,” Shulman said.

“She’s utilizing mobile space to compare and contrast with the designed mobile living space on display in front of the Art Museum,” Mulfinger said.

As part of the experience, Shulman will not leave campus for the duration of her time in the trailer. She plans to use the showers in either the recreation center or the residence halls and the bathroom outside of the Art Museum. She said that without the distractions of an ordinary dwelling, she has been very productive.

“Not leaving sounds like a hardship, but it’s not. Everything you need is here, and I can have things delivered,” Shulman said.

Inside of the structure, Shulman has a bed, a small lamp, food and shower supplies. Her boyfriend, senior CCS art major Robert Wechsler, had the bed on campus already as part of an art exhibit where he displayed sheets that he had made. Shulman was able to bring the rest of the items to campus in a few bike trips, she said. She made curtains out of paper towels, a clothes hammock out of a paper bag and shelves out of hangers and plywood scraps. She is decorating the walls with Daily Nexus clippings.

Although Shulman said she is not worried about her safety, some of her friends expressed concern. As a precautionary measure, Wechsler spent Monday night with her.

“I didn’t want her sleeping on her own on campus. It’s pretty secure, but she’s young and small and it can be scary,” Wechsler said.

During the day, Shulman leaves the door open and welcomes visitors while she is in the trailer. A few curious people stopped by on Monday, Shulman said. One man was intrigued by the fact that the peephole, which, when the unit is in use as an art exhibit, allows people to see into the exhibit, has been altered so that Shulman may see out.

“A couple of people have thought that [living in the trailer] was unpleasant, but nobody’s been opposed to it. Part of the durational performance piece is that I don’t know what’s going to happen, and I might end up hating myself,” Shulman said.

Before she began her project, Shulman obtained permission from UCSB Director of Environmental Health and Safety Larry Parsons. Parsons expressed concern that emergency vehicles would not be able to clear the area between her trailer and the LOT-EK exhibit. UCSB’s Fire Safety Division told Shulman that as long as there is 20 feet or more between the two, there would not be a problem. She also received permission from Art Museum Director Bonnie Kelm.

Independent Study 3D students are required to do two major projects throughout the course of the quarter. Shulman’s first project consisted of sculptures made out of wire and kelp.

Two years ago, Mulfinger, Wechsler and three other students built the mobile art gallery as part of their project for their Independent Study in 3D class. The group used a grant to pay for building the structure.

“We wanted something where the art could be safe but we could expand it to new audiences that wouldn’t normally go to a gallery or go to an art show. We always joked about how it would make a nice little house that someone could live in rent-free, and I’m glad she’s doing it,” Wechsler said.