Dakota Grone, marketing junior, covers new territory for himself and OSU by becoming the first student to have an art installation hanging for display in the Student Experience Center.

Grone’s fixture, “An Act Against Fear,” is a large pendant made of LED lighting and industrial wire that redefines limitations previously perceived by student artists.

“I’ve always been interested in doing things outside of the box. I’ve always strayed from the norm and been interested in pushing boundaries and seeing what other people’s limits are,” Grone said.

The SEC is the hub for campus life and a living laboratory to more than just the student sustainability initiative. It is one of OSU’s newest additions as it was completed last Spring and is home to over 25 student programs dispersed throughout the building.

With help from the SEC committee and Kathryn Baker, the SEC building manager, Grone was able to act on this multi-step process. Since the committee and Baker saw no reason to immediately say no to Grone, they decided to work out a more formalized process to bring this project to reality.

The SEC management staff was mainly supportive of Grone but had concerns in regards to potential health and fire hazards.

“We would never want to be in a position of censoring unless it was a vision that would be harmful emotionally or mentally to our occupants,” Baker said.

The staff asked Grone for specifics and an official proposal so they could make sure there would be no issues with his hanging installation. After the logistics were figured out, Grone and the building staff collaborated on installing this work of art.

“We’re an institution of higher education so we need to be that learning laboratory for students. That’s what we’re all about: the experimental side,” Baker said.

Since the SEC is a unified space for the student body, it is a showcase in itself with a new piece of art that will reach the entire OSU population.

“The best place to do it is the place where I can get the most publicity. The whole media sees it as they go to work, so this was a perfect place to do it,” Grone said.

The presentation of this piece not only benefits Grone, but also a larger audience because they are able to see that the community supports the dreams of students.

“I think as many things that we can have in here that are for students by students, the more students will feel like it’s their building and that there’s something here for them,” said Baker.

Although art intrigues Grone, it is not the main reason for his interest in the field. He enjoys learning about the different philosophies an artist can have on the world and how they choose to express them.

“The biggest thing that I’m interested in art isn’t necessarily the art itself but the extent an artist goes through to express their view on the world,” Grone said.

He is fascinated by an artist named Ian Strange who is known for his unconventional style and work with the social and psychological construct of a home. Lighting houses on fire and cutting them in half would be part of Strange’s artistic process, however Grone chose to take a different approach.

He received help from Dan Rockwell, a staff member in the math department, Lindsay Patterson, a math senior and his brother, Perry Grone, an OSU alumni.

“If you let fear stop you from accomplishing your dream, that’s game over,” Grone said. Through this process, he has gained valuable art installation knowledge and insight to the world of production design from this experience.

 “Do whatever you want. Don’t worry what people tell you and find the balance in realizing it ultimately doesn’t matter,” Grone said.

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