Beauty On Campus

            Being on a college campus almost everywhere you look there’s talent. Recently I’ve noticed a lot of artwork walking around campus done by the students of SCSU. I was really impressed because I know how much hard work and patience they must have had to put in to it to create something great. However, one sculpture in particular stands out to me. Almost everyday I walk by a sculpture next to Engleman Hall. What I like about it is that it is very unique looking, and has somewhat of an abstract shape. So, I decided to do some research on it. Turns out, I actually found out some really interesting things.

            The title of the sculpture is “H2O: Liquid Zone” designed by Mikyoung Kim, an award-winning landscape architect and a faculty member at the Rhode Island School of Design. This sculpture is about fifteen feet tall and eighty one feet long. I imagine something like this must of taken a while to make. It gets even better; this long sculpture changes its appearance with the seasons. How? In the warmer weather, rainwater collects in the mesh creating a micro prismatic effect. In the colder months, the collected water turns into ice, creating a whole different look.

            My personal interpretation of the meaning of this sculpture, besides something nice to look at, is that it represents change. All college students are at the point in their life now, where they can change the outcome of what they want to do or who they want to be. All of us on campus share the single goal to become successful, but how we all go about that is a lot different. I think in the real world and especially college, you are forced to make some changes within your everyday life. Some changes you may be unfamiliar with and some you might really have to work at. All and all, its important to take risks and step outside of your comfort zone because by changing nothing, nothing changes.

            I found this sculpture to be really intriguing and I feel like most students don’t take the time to appreciate artwork like this. Between our class discussions about agency, the arts programs, and my own interest in art, I am definitely considering taking an art class or two throughout my college courses. I feel like it would be interesting to learn about pieces of work people have made, and also to get the hands on experience of creating your own work.