Year after year, as students walk to class in Green Hall, they are met with life-sized sculptures of some of the most iconic film characters scattered throughout the halls. This semester, visitors were surprised with a new set of famous characters on display like Elphaba and Glinda from “Wicked,” Cinderella and Spiderman.
The class Sculpture Studio I: Materials and Methods, divides students into groups of three during the first week of classes, each one choosing their own character.
“Students from all majors look forward to the Packing Tape Sculpture rollout each fall semester,” Professor Todd Smith, instructor of the course said. “Sculpture Studio I provides a creative incubator for problem solving through technical skills, tool and material application and innovative thinking.”
After the team decides on a character, the students begin their work. They split the tasks between the three students, beginning with the bust and costume before bringing the sculpture to life.
“We were all thinking of characters from funny movies … they’re fun to look at,” junior Eden King said.
King, who worked with her team on the figure of Russell from the 2009 Pixar film “Up,” said a variety of materials are used to make each sculpture.
“It’s mainly saran wrap, and there is piping inside to bring structure,” King said. “Some students even use chicken wire for the body. Inside is trash and paper.”
From conception to design to formation, there are plenty of opportunities for the students to get to know each other through the creative process.
“One of the main goals of the course is for a creative community to be formed,” Smith said.
This project teaches the students to work as a team and combine ideas to achieve the finished product. King said that getting to know her classmates was her favorite part of the experience.
“(My group partners) were both really great people,” King said. “We got so close to one another … it’s just so fun to do together.”
After the figures are complete, they are graded and displayed in Green Hall for everyone to enjoy throughout the school years.
Throughout the years, the sculptures have been placed in different locations around campus such as the Jerry Falwell Library and the outside of Green Hall. However, the outdoor elements often destroyed the sculptures. The inside of Green Hall was chosen as a better, high-traffic indoor location.
King hopes that the figures reflect the joy of the films to visitors and students during their busy, often stressful days of school.
“We overheard a little girl with her mom walk by our figure and say ‘Mommy, look, I’ve never seen something like that before,’” King said. “It’s great knowing you made an impact, even in something so silly.”
This type of joy motivates the artists to do their best work and reflect their faith through their creations.
“This project is not something I would normally choose to do, so it really stretches me,” King said. “But it’s worth it to problem solve and work through it to bring a little joy to someone else. I think it glorifies God to bring joy to others.”
Combs is a feature writer for the Liberty Champion.