Standing atop a ladder, shuffling through one of the 11,000 songs on his iPod, artist Lincoln Perry spends the majority of his spring afternoons in Old Cabell Hall, painting the 11-panel mural “The Student’s Progress.” His hands covered in charcoal, he carefully sketches the life story of a redheaded female University undergraduate student on the walls of the building’s lobby.
Though most students can relate to the story in his mural, many are unaware of the history and effort behind it. While for most, the artwork simply provides a colorful image en route to the Music Library or a concert in Old Cabell auditorium, upon closer analysis, the mural depicts familiar college experiences like the initial days of an awkward first-year student to life beyond graduation. At casual observation, the scenes range from “Trick-Or-Treating on the Lawn,” to what Perry refers to as “The Temptation Panel,” where his unnamed redhead is seen overwhelmed by french fries, wine and social activity.
Alternating between a paintbrush and a palette knife, Perry employs a textural style to create images that reference the culture and traditions on which Cavaliers pride themselves.
What allows the mural to connect to students is that it is growing right along with them. For Perry, this masterpiece represents more than a decade of planning and painting, he said. A former University art professor, Perry explained that he was originally commissioned to paint just seven large center panels in 1996. In these initial paintings, he illustrated the redhead’s four years of her undergraduate studies as a violinist. A typical college student, she has her ups and downs and can be seen both struggling on crutches and playing music with friends.
“She’s sort of a klutz” and is challenged with the trials and tribulations that most students experience as they come into their own, Perry said. He added that he would rather convey this “two steps forward, one step back” image of a flawed but human University student than one of a romanticized southern belle breezing her way through college.
“That would be boring to paint” and perhaps unrealistic, he said.
Perry said he came up with the story on his own, although he used a model for the main figure. He said he chose to depict her as a violinist because he believed that such a character could serve as representative image that would have the power to speak for itself.
After completing the original project with resounding success, Perry decided he was not yet finished. He took a three-year break and then continued to paint the redhead’s story, focusing on her post-graduate life. Today, the mural covers almost every wall of Old Cabell’s lobby, containing snapshots of the student’s marriage, pregnancy, career as a University professor and — most recently — her daughter’s acceptance to the University.
When asked if he had a favorite scene from the mural, Perry said it is usually the one he is working on at the time, because that is where he focuses his current attention and energy.
Second-year College student Zoe Arndt, a regular in the music department, said she finds it fascinating to observe that “all of [a] sudden, these sketches turn into a realistic picture.”
For some, realistic only begins to describe the similarities between “The Student’s Progress” and students’ actual lives, as each panel is supposed to parallel an event or emotion that is unique to University students’ experiences.
University alumna and piano teacher Kelly Gross said she remembers when the walls of Old Cabell were nothing but blank spaces, adding that she has noticed the many changes that the building has undergone over the years.
So, what more could Perry add to the story? He said he is currently painting a graduation scene, which he plans to finish with a landscape of the surrounding mountains. Perry only works on the mural in the spring, however, and completes about one panel per year, he said. This year is no different; count on seeing Perry in Old Cabell almost every day this spring.
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