By Wang Lin, Translated by Hu Yuduo

The construction of Wuhu Sculpture Park, inspired by China • Wuhu “Liu Kaiqu Award” International Sculpture Exhibition”, has gained wide recognition from the public, experts and leaders. The interpretations of “Wuhu Model”, whether from Sun Zhenhua or Jack Tian, all emphasize the corporation between professional teamwork and government agencies in the construction of urban public art through organization, evaluation and supervision, the way that will guarantee the quality of sculptures. After reading several articles from counterparts, I think they all talk well and provide insightful summaries.

I have walked around the trails, lawns and shades of Wuhu Sculpture Park, not as an organizer but as an audience. After watching these sculptures one by one, I have some feelings.

Indeed, the beautiful large place with mountains and water provided by Wuhu government to build the sculpture park represent its care for citizen, not for the political achievement of its city image. Today, China’s urban construction and population density deprive the space for people to relax. The requirement of citizen to survive and live should be the priority and a must thing for government to consider. Using a sentence from advertising to describe, that is “if you want to see Wuhu Model, go to see Wuhu Sculpture Park”.

I have noticed the comments of the former two sculpture exhibitions regarded humanity-ecology as its principle creative pointing, which put the emphasis on the adaptability and suitability to the environment. As a result, the works are mostly non-figurative sculptures, and the creative approaches with modern Western abstract sculptures as the main line embody personal characteristic of the artist, presenting diversity of creations. This changes the past era’s focus of using public sculptures to preach political ideas, and echoes the modern industrial civilization and modern urban environment which utilize modern art to nourish the general public. It is an appropriate way for managers of the city to cultivate modern citizens. Public art should be considered as part of public education, and the sculptures installed in a casual environment are more close to people which can unconsciously influence the residents in a subtle aesthetic process.

If the past two exhibitions are mainly concerned about ecology and beautifying environment through exceeding and innovation, then my expectation for the third and fourth sculpture exhibition is that it should highlight more on the connotation of “humanity”, including coordination of aesthetic and expression of the question, using the contemporary sculpture language to touch the basic questions of love, life and existence, which is the inherent nature and internal problem of public sculptures. Public art is different from personal creation which can strongly reveal the social reality, historical, cultural and spiritual issues. But it is necessary to confront the relationship between desire and love of contemporary people, as well as life and existence, which is the necessary condition to maintain the frontier and ideological content of public art creation. I noticed what Mr. Gao Dengbang, secretary of Wuhu municipal committee, had said during his tour to the sculpture park: “This is the art palace where sculptures get together, this is the place where spirit can free itself.” —— “The spirit of full freedom” is not only given citizens an aesthetic enjoyment, but also give them an enlightened experience and thinking. Only in this way, the unhindered imagination of every visitor can be inspired spontaneously. The spiritual freedom of art is the preparation to freedom for public citizen.

I can’t agree with Mr. Sun Zhenhua more about the changes he described: from the past ritualized space to public space toward citizen——and the essence of public space of citizen culture is their right to share and spiritual freedom.

May 23, 2014