After weeks of hard work bringing their vision to life, Auburn University art students unveiled their finished mural, which will be sent off next month as part of an international project, at Balcony Bar on Saturday, Feb. 21.
The mural was a collaborative project between 15 painting students from the fall 2014 and spring 2015 painting classes as part of the Small World Big Picture Project. The students wanted to take a few concepts that make Auburn special, and translate that vision to their painting so that it can be seen by people all around the world.
The students in the fall semester’s Painting I class brainstormed ideas for the mural for a few days, and then spent two weeks bringing that vision to life. Students in this semester’s Painting II class picked up where the others left off, and completed the 16-foot-by-5-foot masterpiece in approximately a week.
“The mural celebrates who and what Auburn is,” said Wendy DesChene, art professor. “When this mural is shipped overseas to the project to be displayed with other murals from around the world, Auburn will be represented proudly from those that live here.”
The mural features several of Auburn’s most iconic aspects, including a golden eagle, a large oak tree and students interacting on Auburn’s campus. It even included some of Auburn University’s Tiger Transit routes.
Adrienne Hames, junior in fine arts, helped paint the tree in the mural—an homage to Auburn’s famous Toomer’s Oaks. “We tried bringing in things that Auburn people love, so we want the town to be able to enjoy it too,” Hames said.
Kelsey Gainer, senior in art, also said she liked how the mural brought out several aspects of a culture that are specific to Auburn.
“It was fun being a part of something that’s going to be big,” Gainer said.
According to the project’s website, the Small World Big Picture Project is the brainchild of American artist Kim Howard, a former Auburn resident and alumna of Auburn University. Howard began the project in 2013 when she painted the first “Big Picture,” which measured 65.5-feet-by-4.9-feet. She then cut a 3.3-foot-by-4.9-foot section off of each end, which she calls cornerstones, and sent them to two other artists. Those two artists then created their own Big Pictures based on the cornerstone they received, and sent the cornerstones from their works to other artists. This process continues, connecting the works of every artist involved in an effort to create the longest ongoing painting in the world.
The goal of the project is to bring people of all cultures closer together and anyone is welcome to participate, according to Howard.
Though Howard could not attend the unveiling, her mother Helga Wilmoth was there to see the students’ work and congratulate them. She also shared some of her daughter’s story and passion for art while growing up in Auburn.
“One could tell from the beginning that she was talented,” Wilmoth said. “It was no doubt—she was a swimmer on the swim team, she was a strong basketball player at Auburn High School, but art was her favorite.”
Wilmoth also touched on Howard’s goals with the project and the message that art should be more integrated in our daily lives.
“She had this idea that art should be for more than just those who go to museums," Wilmoth said. "Art should be for the people.”
Howard hopes the project will promote greater acceptance of people from other nations, which she believes is crucial in this generation and those to follow.
The project was a great opportunity for her students to gain collaborative experience, according to DesChene.
“So many projects in a university are independent tasks, but when students leave and work in the real world, much of what they will be doing will be collaborative," DesChene said. "This type of project where students work together on a mutual goal allows them to experience that.”
The mural will remain at Balcony Bar, located above Moe’s Southwest Grill on West Magnolia Avenue, until it is shipped next month to the project’s headquarters in the Azores Islands by Portugal.
“As it’s a mural that celebrates the town of Auburn, it’s super cool to exhibit it in a local business that is in the heart of Auburn before we share it with the larger world,” DesChene said.
To keep up with the project or learn how to get involved, visit smallworld-bigpicture.org.
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