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CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION Friday, May 4, 2018 LIFE 23 A TRIBUTE TO TRIER Karl Marx’s statue in his hometown infuses philosopher’s soul with art, writes its sculptor Wu Weishan. n the history of human civilization, people have erected statues to show their recognition of Ihuman values and to celebrate men of special significance. Thus, Western history can be read through sculptures, which aren’t just about aes­ thetic appreciation but also have cultural and epochal val­ ue. On the 200th anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, a bronze statue of Marx, at a height of 5.5 meters, will find its home in a public square in Trier, Germa­ ny, Marx’s hometown on Satur­ day. The statue also reflects the city’s profound historical and cultural traditions. As the sculptor of the bronze statue, I’m proud that its appearance in Trier has drawn global attention. As history has entrusted me the mission to infuse the philosopher’s soul with art, it is not only about conveying personal style and Bronze statue emotions, but also the friend­ of Karl Marx ship between Chinese and Ger­ created by Wu mans. Weishan. Recalling the two years of Chinese artist Wu Weishan works on German philosopher Karl Marx’s statue in his studio. The statue will be officially inaugurated in Trier, the creating process of the stat­ Germany on Saturday, Marx’s 200th birth anniversary. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY ue arouses waves of emotions in me. The story began with my trip er of the millennium” by BBC tion and height of the statue. incorporates the spirit of Marx. to Trier in January 2016, with News Online readers and Finally, we decided that the Soon, Leibe came to my stu­ respect and dreams of decades. topped several lists of the great­ statue would be located in dio in Beijing. After seeing the As one of the oldest cities in est philosophers in history, front of the city museum, near 60­centimeter­high maquette Germany, Trier got fame as ear­ It (making the which made Germany proud. Porta Nigra, the Roman archi­ and a 2.3­meter­high interme­ ly as 2,000 years ago during the For a century Chinese society tecture, with Karl Marx House diate model, he was pleased to Roman times. The river Mosel­ statue) is not only has achieved great progress by just 200 meters away. Obvious­ say that Karl Marx has come to le slowly winds through, combining Marxism with Chi­ ly, the statue, the height of life again and his philosophy Chinese art. The lines of Chi­ ations in the shape of the reflecting the city’s elegance about conveying nese social realities. which was preliminarily deter­ has been visualized in the 21st nese calligraphy and the statue. and primitive simplicity. The personal style and In that sense, a Marx statue mined at about 6 meters, century. Moselle River endow the statue To ensure its outdoor visual red sandstone hills and warm by a Chinese sculptor will would integrate with the envi­ According to Leibe, Trier has with the spirituality of art. effect, I transported the model purple forests under the winter emotions, but also become a bond of friendship ronment. erected a 6.9­meter­high statue When creating the statue, I back to Beijing and modified it sunshine echo with Roman between China and Germany. With a consensus on the stat­ based on my design after solic­ merged Western realism and in an outdoor square. It was architecture, whose poetic tone the friendship As a Chinese artist, I grew up ue, the Germans toasted me iting public opinions. He had Chinese impressionism. West­ the beginning of February reminds me of the early Ren­ with a portrait of Marx at goodbye with local wine and I personally spent one day trav­ ern realistic sculptures from when Beijing was between ­8 C aissance oil paintings. between Chinese home. His iconic hairstyle and wrote: “The hometown of a eling by bus and getting public ancient Greece and Rome have and ­12 C. I climbed up and Having witnessed numerous moustache, as well as the great man — our permanent feedback. The design was provided me with a sharp knife down the scaffold in the chilly pedestrians coming and going and Germans.” thoughtful expressions had spiritual home.” accepted by the vast majority to bring out the character’s wind and shaped the model for thousands of years, the found their way to my heart And the mayor wrote that and won 42 votes from the total physical form and spirit, with plaster. After 5 hours of stone roads are burnished with Wu Weishan, director of the and soul. the statue of Karl Marx will 53 at the city council, with four whereas the Chinese impres­ continuous work, my hands sheen. The holy melody of the National Art Museum of China Images of a man change build a golden bridge between abstentions. The suggestions sionism gave me wings to freely almost froze. church organs and the slow according to different stages in China and Germany. were merely to readjust the express poetic sentiments. In the early morning of Feb rhythm of life tell the city’s long his life. As the first large out­ Soon after returning to Chi­ height of the statue in order to What I always strive for is to 28, the bronze casting was history. All of these are filled with the concept of the Marx door sculpture of the city, I na, I started my creation. In fit the display space. turn my statues into poetic phi­ completed and the statue was with the historical and cultural statue. Accompanied by the intended to conform it to fact, I have created quite a few Later, I had multiple face­to­ losophy. about to be transported to Ger­ profoundness of the great mayor, we went to the desig­ Marx’s identity as a great think­ statues of Marx in recent years, face and video interactions on Ludwig is a highly accom­ many via a large aircraft. I man’s birthplace. nated location of the statue. er and philosopher and mean­ continuously studying litera­ the size of the statue. We deter­ plished architect and urban went to the airport to see off Wolfram Leibe, the Lord Knowing that the city has invit­ while apply an image that had ture and consulting research­ mined that the statue should planner, who is passionate and the statue and waited on the Mayor, Andreas Ludwig, the ed a Chinese artist for the stat­ represented Chinese people’s ers of Marxist philosophy be 4.6 meters in height and the rational. After seeing the stat­ apron from 1 am to 5 am. Just director of the city’s planning ue, some of my German peers impression of him. during the process. The accu­ base should be 90 centimeters, ue, he wrote that he was when the day started dawning, department, and all the citi­ had come from Berlin. And, a I wanted the statue to be mulation of experience adding up to 5.5 meters, which pleased to witness turning a the plane slowly taxied and zens I saw were in high spirits. number of journalists, citizen located in an open space. allowed me to compare from indicates Marx’s birthday and concept into reality. “What we quickly took off, carrying the At Karl Marx House, the representatives and role­play­ Unlike statues of Egyptian multiple perspectives and find suits the overall environment. see and sense is pure sublimity. best wishes of the Chinese peo­ former residence of Marx, I ers of Marx were there, too. pharaohs, the Buddha and any an accurate positioning and In January 2017, Ludwig The works of Marx are revived. ple. sensed why a member of the In Germany, it requires other religious icon, or politi­ way of expression. visited my studio along with art Professor Wu’s statue teems The bronze statue of Karl lawyer family was born with social participation, repeated cian statues with gestures, the With inspiration from and engineering experts and with vitality,” he adds. Marx has been erected in his the genes of reason and logic. public discussions in media statue of Marx should empha­ Marx’s hometown, I created a German journalists. Boarding Though it was winter, the hometown! It has been 200 Marx had spent his childhood and a vote through parliament size his greatness as an ordi­ 60­centimeter­high maquette, the 4.6­meter­high scaffold studio was warm with passion, years from Marx’s birth to the and a part of his teenage life in to build a statue in public spa­ nary human being. which presented Marx wearing and facing the final model of friendship, art and philosophy. statue’s erection. Trier before he went to the Uni­ ces. I thought of him being seat­ an overcoat and walking Marx’s statue, he told the In front of the statue of Karl Life is limited but the spirit versity of Bonn at the age of 17, Facing the media and the ed or standing, but later decid­ against the wind with a book in reporters, “This is Marx in our Marx, China and Germany is infinite. The book in Marx’s and later studied law at the public, I talked about Marx’s ed on a forward movement of his hand. His hair and beard hearts!” made spiritual conversations hand and the path under his University of Berlin, where he commitment to the dedication the statue, considering that his were rich, consistent with his Those who were present saw on art.

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