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Saskia de Rooy, a renowned Dutch sculptor, has been sculpting the human face for more than 20 years. She has traveled to many parts of the globe, meeting hundreds of people; each having their own story to tell. Saskia brings their stories to life through these clay sculptures.
艺术 has been a channel for people to build relationships for centuries. For de Rooy, every portrait she’s sculpted has blossomed into a new relationship. In the two hours that it takes her to create her masterpieces, de Rooy is able to examine what touches her subjects, 是什么打动了他们, 什么能让他们快乐, what they dream of and what they pursue. The relationships she’s been able to build inspired her to begin teaching on a national and international level, hoping to demonstrate that art has the ability to bring people together.
刚刚过去的这个夏天, de Rooy caught the attention of Carroll administrators, who invited her to visit campus to be the artist in residence for the 2017–18 school year. With support from the Mary Nohl Fund of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, de Rooy launched her year-long interdisciplinary initiative, 一幅肖像画, focused on demonstrating how art can help us build community at Carroll. On campus, the project was facilitated by the 艺术部门.
The first phase of the project began in late September, when five members of the Carroll community served as models for de Rooy: 辛迪·格纳丁格总统教授, Piatt乔, students Jeffrey (JJ) Keels and SuYi Lynn, and our very own Gert Ullsperger. For five days, de Rooy spent several hours in the lobby of the 校园中心 sculpting the face of each model; the next day, that same piece of clay was crushed and then used to create a new portrait. The reworking of the project was meant to emphasize our humanity despite our differences—and that we are all the same inside.
就像她过去的肖像项目一样, de Rooy was able to form five new relationships, driving home the goal of the project to the campus community. She wanted everyone to realize that “we’re only here (on earth) for a short period of time so it’s really worth it to take the take the time to listen to each other because it reveals a great deal more about a person than you anticipate at the first encounter.”