Published: Fall 2021
Author: Zhang Hengxi
A sparkling sculpture, "Roots," created by famous Wenzhou sculpture artist Xu Zhidong was unveiled on the 10th anniversary of WKU in 2022, drawing massive attention from WKU students, with few of them understanding the story behind it.
"I don't know the true meaning of this sculpture because there is no official introduction made about it, but I'm curious. In my mind, it is just like three dancing people, which shows students' energetic characteristics," said Phoebe, a junior student majoring in English.
The design of this sculpture is mainly based on the Banyan tree, known as the representative tree of Wenzhou city. The Banyan tree is 15-25 meters tall with sturdy and dense branches and is evergreen perennially. Also, it has a well-developed root system which extends deep into the earth.
"The roots of the Banyan tree are like Wenzhou-Kean University, deeply rooted in the land of Wenzhou. The intricate intertwining of the roots demonstrates the philosophy of Wenzhou-Kean University's Sino-foreign cooperation and the integration of Chinese and American cultures," said Mr. Xu. Mr. Xu is a well-known figure of Wenzhou traditional sculpture art called Ou sculpture. The true meaning of this sculpture is related to WKU's culture and values that revealed the Power of cooperation between the US and China.
The sculpture is integrated with the CBPM behind it, showing how well it blends with the WKU buildings. [Photo/Elaine Zhang]
Mr. Xu has designed sculptures for China Yellow Wine Museum, Wenzhou Ecological Park, and other landmarks, integrating the classical Ou sculpture culture perfectly into the surrounding environment. However, the sculpture style changed to city sculpture this time, leaving Mr. Xu with some challenges. "City sculpture is more modern than Ou sculpture. The former uses round carving technology; the latter uses relief technology. They are completely different." Mr. Xu explained.
As this sculpture is made of stainless steel casting, the manufacturing process is complicated. First, it needs to combine the specific characteristics of the university for design conception. After confirming the design drawings, it needs to go through more than ten processes, such as cutting and welding to finalize the production of the sculpture. The whole manufacturing process took more than one year, and it finished in 2019 but moved to WKU until February 2021 because of the construction of the Student Center.
"It is a great recognition for me that this work has finally been shown to the public after three years under the shade cloth." Mr. Xu said. This sculpture is Mr. Xu's masterpiece and an artistic expression of Wenzhou-Kean University's philosophy and culture. It needs an official introduction from the university in the future to tell a fabulous story about this.
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