UVa students commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Congratulations to Andrew Salmon who has won the Nationwide Berlin Wall Art Contest held by the German Embassy.  UVa today has a full article on the victory, which is excerpted here:

The embassy letter notifying Salmon of the award said, “The competition was very stiff, the jury found your sculpture uniquely impressive in both its conception and execution. You managed to communicate the emotional and physical brutality of the wall without resorting to the easy iconography of the cold war. The jury was also impressed with the fine details you included in this relatively large scale work.”

Salmon, who is from Arlington, won a four-night trip to Berlin for two, which he plans to take during U.Va.’s spring break in March.

“Berlin is one of the art capitals today. I am really fortunate to get to go there,” he said.

In addition to art, Salmon plans to take in the city’s architecture, including visits to the Reichstag, the new German Parliament designed by architect Norman Foster; and the Jewish Museum, designed by Daniel Libeskind. “The modern architecture is extremely sculptural, incorporating concepts of light and transparency,” Salmon said.

Salmon created his design in studio art professor William Bennett’s Introduction to Sculpture class. Each student proposed a design and the class voted on two, which were then submitted to the University’s Berlin Wall project. The class worked as a team to create Salmon’s sculpture, a 4-foot by 8-foot wall panel plaster casting created from a clay mold that weighs nearly 1,000 pounds. The piece was displayed in the McIntire Amphitheater.

“My intent was to create a feeling of the wall coming down, but still being present,” Salmon said.

Salmon’s sculpture and small works created by other class members will be on display at Hereford College starting in February.

The Center for German Studies holds its annual essay competition in the Spring 2010. In the spirit of Freedom Without Walls, the Center invites you to draw from the large heritage of German culture to investigate what is alive and relevant for present-day society.

For example: An engineering student may want to write on a German scientist such as Einstein whose legacy informs current research in the field. An architectural student may see the influence of the “Bauhaus” in present-day art and design. A student of economics or political science may want to investigate Germany’s role in the current geo-political configuration. Rather than simple-minded glorification, one might also investigate negative influences such as patterns of anti-Semitism from the past that never seem to die. On the other hand, Germany’s “Green Movement” is forward-looking, and you could explore how it helps us rethink our own approaches to the environment and how to save the planet forour generation and those to come. Your essay may draw on a seminar paper you wrote here at UVa, and should be five to eight pages long (double-spaced). The winners will be announced during the third week of April.

For more information click here.