The bigger picture

Student displays a year of her life in single piece of artwork

Posted by on February 1, 2012 in Culture.

Art Show Winner: FSU junior Lauren Pinner, above, was the Judge’s Choice winner in the Honors Art Show. Her artwork was created from 365 photographs, one documenting each day of the year in her life. Photo By: Brock Copus | Multimedia Editor
They say a picture is worth a thousand words; put 365 pictures together and you’ve got quite a story to tell.

Lauren Pinner, FSU junior in graphic design, competed for the second time in the Honors Art Show held Jan. 25 at Rankin Art Gallery. This year, Pinner won the coveted Judge’s Choice Award, chosen by Dr. William Culpepper, an assistant professor in FSU’s graphic design program.

Pinner’s artwork told a year’s worth of stories in a single piece of art. Starting on her twentieth birthday, she took a photo every day for 365 days and wanted to document them in some way.

Her piece consisted of all 365 photos attached to a piece of plywood and nails connecting strings to all of the pictures. The center of her board spelled out “365” with all of the strings from the photos.

Honors Art Show: Students and faculty gathered to view dozens of artworks created by FSU honors students. Photo By: Brock Copus | Multimedia Editor
“This piece expresses the journey I took in taking all the pictures,” Pinner said. “All of the little experiences connect into one giant work. They are interwoven life events.”

Some of the photos on her board include ones she took during a mission trip to Juarez, Mexico with His House Christian Fellowship to build houses. Others include a family trip to Colorado.

Once all the pictures were taken, it took Pinner a few full days of working on the piece to complete it.

Being a graphic design major, Pinner keeps busy during the school year with projects for classes. She also enjoys photography and watercolor painting.

“Art is a way to express what’s going on inside of us,” Pinner said. “It is a creative release—a way to deal with life events and express experiences. I wanted to convey my experiences to other people who haven’t been able to do all the things I’ve done and try to involve them in my art so they can ‘experience’ it too.”

Pinner believes the main goal of art in general is to get other people to feel and experience what the artist feels.

Crowd Favorite: FSU sophomore Matt Agnone won Crowd Favorite in the Honors Art Show. Agnone’s painting was one of dozens of artworks on display in the Rankin Art Gallery. Photo By: Brock Copus | Multimedia Editor
Culpepper described Pinner’s piece as having the ability to connect viewers to different places and portray the symbolism of where she’s traveled.

“Her individual memories connected to making something bigger,” Culpepper said.

When Culpepper announced the winner, Pinner felt excited yet surprised.

“There were a lot of really good pieces,” Pinner said. “I felt honored that I was chosen and satisfied knowing that I made something that was good and that other people saw that. It feels good to have that positive affirmation.”

Pinner took home a prize of $100 dollars in gift certificates to various Big Rapids businesses and a plaque.

“I was impressed with all the pieces,” Pinner said. “I enjoyed seeing other students doing art and witnessing how it can unify people.”