The Georgia Cyber Innovation & Training Center presented two of three winning pieces in Augusta University’s Student Mural Competition, Thursday afternoon. The artworks were unveiled in a special event at the Hive, an innovation space on the third floor of the Shaffer McCartney Building.
“When you can mix our art students with a cyber location, it just goes to show what the university’s about,” said Michael Shaffer, the executive Vice President of strategic partnerships and economic development at the Cyber Center. “Diversity of people, diversity of thought.”
The Cyber Center and AU’s Department of Art and Design partnered to hold the contest, aiming to develop new artwork for display at the Hive.
“We had struggled with this wall,” said Shaffer. “This space had been built out…our architects had sent some the geometrical designs that you would expect.”
In a meeting with Shaffer, university president Brooks Keel recommended getting students involved after showing Shaffer a mural in the lobby of Washington Hall at the Summerville campus, the winning piece of a mural competition the school held earlier this year.
The artist of that piece was animation student Emily Hogue, who would go on to be one of the winners of the Cyber Center’s contest. Hogue said she went to apply as soon as he got word of the competition.
“I submitted seven designs because I was so excited about it,” she said.
Beth Droppleman, a former French professor and current art student at AU, learned about the contest in one of her classes and decided to participate out of curiosity.
“I’m not a muralist,” said Droppleman, “But I was inspired… I decided the only way I could do it would be to have a pro on my team.”
Droppleman and Hogue had taken a painting class together. After meeting for coffee, the two realized they appreciated each other’s art styles. The two would work together to develop two of the winning murals.
One mural, titled “Bees in Time,” merges Hogue’s cartoon-inspired style with Droppleman’s focus on nature, depicting a whimsical illustration of innovation through the ages: with “stone age” bees using caveman tools on one end, progressing to the use of photography, rockets, computers and, finally, virtual reality headsets on the other.
The welcome wall mural is placed to be one of the first things people see when they arrive on the floor. The collage-like piece blends features of Augusta’s flora and fauna—including from Phinizy Swamp—with Hogue’s Dr. Seuss-inspired illustration design.
“You can really tell our different styles,” Hogue said. “[Droppleman] is more traditional, acrylic pours, painterly; and I have a very cartoony, flat style.”
Artists who submitted were given a tour of the facility, and the key themes of innovation and collaboration. Doppleman and Hogue’s partnering, focus on the local natural environment, and creation of a bee-themed art piece all proved apt.
“Everything’s intention,” said Shaffer, a beekeeper himself. “Every one of those bees has a purpose in what they’re doing. They’re either bringing something in or taking something out, and they communicate.”
“The Hive” was so named because of its association with bees, as the space is meant for cooperative projects.
“That’s why it’s a great fit for this floor,” Shaffer said, noting before it had just been called the Innovation Space. “One of the team members came up with the name. I was like ‘oh my gosh, yes, that was perfect.’”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
