Written by Elliott Coombes // Photo by Macy Cox
Harding celebrated a new set of paintings added to the inside of the McInteer Bible and World Missions Center on Sept. 13, produced by junior Cooper Fitch, the winner of this year’s art competition. The McInteer has been offering this competition for several years, both as an opportunity for students to explore their artistic talents and as a way to enrich the Bible building with art that reflects the truths taught inside.
The submissions are judged each year by an aesthetics committee, with Dr. Mac Sandlin serving as chairman. Each year the contest has a different theme. This year the theme was David, requiring four paintings, each with their own aspect of the figure: the Psalmist, the Warrior, the King and the Sinner.
Fitch’s work captures each of these elegantly. His paintings feature realistic hands, each holding an object representing one of the four aspects. Sandlin said Fitch’s style makes his paintings stand out.
“For me, the contrast is what really makes them stand out,” Sandlin said.“The grey-scale and the bold splash of color in each one — I think that’s the thing you notice first about them.”
Sandlin also said he liked the creativity of Fitch’s idea.
“I also think the detail work in the charcoal is quite impressive,” Sandlin said. “When we said the theme was David, I did not anticipate the idea, but I liked the creativity and originality in just hands — how do we express each of these motifs only in a hand?”
The inspiration for Fitch’s theme came from pinpointing his skills and coming up with an idea that could align with these skills, he said.
“My dad said focus on something smaller because that’s what I’m better at — the detail work,” Fitch said. “Hands are pretty universal, and they can hold objects, which is what I wanted to focus in on.”
As the winner, Fitch was given the supplies and guidance to recreate his submissions at a larger display scale. His photorealistic style led him to spend over 150 hours over the summer working on the paintings. Fitch also managed the task of balancing an internship at the same time. Despite this exceptional workload, Fitch followed through, and now his work will be a part of the permanent collection.
Assistant professor of Art and Design Tessa Davidson, another member of the committee, described what it was like to watch people come through the McInteer and be moved by the art.
“That’s what’s been inspiring, is to see other people get excited about this way of communication and want to do it themselves,” Davidson said.
Davidson’s role involves working to assist and fill any needs of the contest winners as they create their projects.
As the contest returns each year, prospective students considering entry are encouraged to show off their talents and make submissions, no matter what field of study they come from.
“Many people love art and have talent but are not interested in pursuing it as a career, and we want to grab hold of that talent and say, ‘Here’s an opportunity to do something that you love,’” Sandlin said.
The four David paintings will remain in the McInteer Rotunda throughout the semester and be moved into one of the classrooms in the spring, when the new theme “Miracles of Jesus” will be featured.
