Copyright © 2015 Tsai Kuenlin. All rights reserved
Early in his residency at Waterloo Arts, Kuen-lin Tsai set his sights on building a large public art sculpture in the steel Waterloo Tower in North Collinwood. Kuen-lin decided to craft the sculpture using PVC pipes and fittings, a familiar material he has used in previous sculptures. He found that procuring PVC materials was far more difficult in the U.S. than in Asia, but through mail order, trips to Home Depot and an excursion to a plumbing supply store in Akron, Kuen-lin was finally able to collect the parts he needed and begin construction. Kuen-lin also prepared sets of PVC for students at CMSD’s Oliver H. Perry Elementary School. The students visited Kuen-lin in his studio, where he led them in a sculpture workshop. Kuen-lin then incorporated the sculptures they created with the PVC into his larger tower sculpture.
The final phase of the sculpture’s construction took place in the Waterloo Arts gallery and outside on the gallery’s front patio, allowing visitors and community members to watch Kuen-lin’s progress. Installing the 30-foot sculpture required a bit of problem-solving and assistance from other artists and community members who volunteered their time, expertise and tools to assist Kuen-lin. The finished work, titled Treesure House, was unveiled to the community on November 6th.
