Oliver Voight
(SACRAMENTO, Oct. 12) – The Sculpture collection heralded as one of the highlights of the cultural activities leading to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games has come to Sacramento.
A crowd of people filled the Convention Center Tuesday night to preview the Beijing Olympic Landscape Sculpture International Exhibition of Award Winners displayed throughout the lobby and main floor of the building. Lion dancers opened the ceremonies before Mayor Heather Fargo addressed the assembled guests. An extensive list of dignitaries were introduced, including Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee delegates, Host Committee members, Olympic athletes and artists. Finally, Professor Xikun Yuan, Director of the Organizing Committee of the 2008 Olympic Landscape Sculpture Designs Contest, spoke of Olympic ideals and global harmony through art.
The competition, documented as “the largest solicitation for sculptures in Olympic history,” attracted more than 2400 design proposals from artists representing 90 countries. Since early 2006, the careful evaluation by an international panel of 17 experts from the U.K., Russia, Italy, Germany, Austria, U.S. and South Korea winnowed the 2433 entries to 386, then to 290 deemed “Excellent Works” and, from this group, the current 110 were chosen for the International Tour exhibitions. These award-winning designs were reproduced in triplicate to allow for simultaneous exhibitions.
At the conclusion of the tour, in a nationally televised ceremony in China, 29 sculptures, symbolic of the 29th Olympiad, will be awarded gold, silver and bronze medals. These sculptures will be installed, many in monumental size, throughout the Beijing Olympic environment.
Just three Americans remain in contention and were awarded places on the International Exhibition Tour. As listed in the official publication, “OLYMPICS AND SCULPTURE, Catalogue of Works For The 2008 Olympic Landscape Sculpture International Tour Exhibition,” the winners are Edward Eyth of California, the partnership of Asherah Cinnamon and Scott Fuller of Maine, and Carole Turner of Oregon.
Scott Fuller and Carole Turner were in Sacramento for the opening reception and Edward Eyth and Asherah Cinnamon were expected to arrive later in the week for a ceremony at the State Capitol. Californian Shray Friedman, one of the 10 U.S. artists in the “Excellent Works” category, displayed the scupture that inspired her contest entry.
At a reception for the Host Committee and honored guests, Professor Yuan was presented with a small sculpture of a young Chinese gymnast, a “study” for Ms. Turner’s Olympic sculpture, “Rhythmic Dancer.”
Internationally acclaimed painter and sculptor, Director of the Jintai Museum in Beijing, and recipient of the United States Academy’s Sports Artist of the Year 2008, a book has been published about the art and life of Xikun Yuan. Professor Yuan personalized copies of the book and presented them to members of the Host Committee as the reception came to a close.
While the Sacramento exhibition includes approximately half of the 110 sculptures that comprise the International Tour Collection, it is an impressive display of international talent, sculptural styles, and interpretation of Olympism. The Collection has been shown at the International Olympic Committee Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, and cities such as London, Seoul, Rome, Los Angeles and Barcelona. The next U.S. exhibition will take place in Chicago (Oct. 23 – Nov. 3). And a special United Nations exhibition is planned for December 2007 or January 2008. Don’t miss the opportunity to view this Collection before it heads back to China.
The Beijing Olympic Sculpture exibition is open to the public October 10 – 22, Sacramento Convention Center, 14 & J Streets, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. daily. Admission is free.
Asia Pacific Journal
