Anne Jumper Brings Home Second in International Art Competition

This June, senior Anne Jumper won second place in the Lowell Milken Center’s Unsung Heroes international art contest. 

The contest aims to highlight heroes throughout history who haven’t received the recognition they deserve for their accomplishments. Jumper’s winning piece, titled “The Beauty of Genius,” depicts Austrian actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr. 

“[The piece] commemorates Hedy Lamarr in her work on torpedoes and the signal hopping system to block torpedoes in World War II,” Jumper said.

While Lamarr was well known for her work acting in 1930s and 40s films, the technology she pioneered not only helped the allies secure a victory in World War II, but also served as a stepping stone towards many modern-day innovations we use today such as GPS, Wi-Fi, and bluetooth, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Lamarr’s broad life accomplishments served as inspiration for Jumper’s entry into the contest.

“The idea behind [the piece] was to show this tremendous double life that she lived between being this really famous actress and at the same time being an inventor at a time where very few women had roles like that,” Jumper said.

“The Beauty of Genius” features a lifelike depiction of Hedy Lamarr, with rolls of film, schematics of her work, and a newspaper headline behind her. It combines several different elements such as text, several portraits of different sizes, and an abstract depiction of important symbols from throughout Lamarr’s life. 

One of Jumper’s art classmates, senior Milo Castronovo, said Jumper has always been devoted to bringing the highest level of detail and realism to her art pieces.

“Anne is a really dedicated art student. She does a lot of really detail oriented work, and she does a lot of work with nature,” Castronovo said.

The piece was done in acrylic-on-canvas, fully in black and white. After winning the contest the piece was made accessible online, so that Piedmont students like junior Seve Sanchez were able to examine it.

“It must have taken a lot of time, and it was really well done. I had to look at it for a while to take it all in,” Sanchez said.

Jumper’s victory came as a surprise, as she didn’t enter the contest with the intention of winning.

“I was pretty over the moon–-I wasn’t expecting it at all. I submitted the piece as a second hand thought and I just made it for our class. It was really, really exciting,” Jumper said.

Jumper said her art teacher Ms. Bailey and her peers in art class throughout the years have been her greatest source of inspiration and advice in her art career.

“They motivate me to put all my effort into all my pieces. It’s honestly a very lovely environment, the art program we have here at PHS and Miss Bailey’s class,” Jumper said.

Castronovo said the direction Jumper took her artistic style in for the contest was the perfect combination of elements.

“I think the piece that won showed her incredible portraiture. She also used text integration which I think added a lot to the piece overall,” Castronovo said.

Jumper’s second place win came with a $2000 reward, but she said her victory meant much more to her than just the cash prize. 

“I really didn’t do it for the money. I really enjoyed researching Hedy Lamarr and making the piece and I would have made the piece whether or not I entered it. It validates my art skill and all the work I’ve put into my art over the years, so it’s a very humbling experience,” Jumper said.

Jumper has been taking art classes for nine years, and it has now become far more meaningful to her than a simple hobby.

“Art is definitely an outlet for me to express my creativity, which is harder to do in a lot of other ways. It’s a pastime, but it’s also a community. I feel like just being in art classes here I’ve made so many friends and met so many amazing people,” Jumper said.