- February 06, 2014
- By Liam Farrell
As it turns out, Maryland’s Chapel Oak is living beyond the 75 years it spent on campus providing shade and scenery.
Art Professor Foon Sham built the 5,000-pound, 10-foot-tall “Chapel Oak Vessel” out of the remains of “Duke’s Tree,” as it was called in honor of its groundskeeper. The tree was cut down in 2012 after being damaged by lightning, fungi and insects, but pieces were salvaged for the sculpture. It was first exhibited for six months at the Arlington Arts Center in Arlington, Va., and is now on display at the Robinson Nature Center in Columbia, Md.
Sham says his acorn-shaped sculpture represents the transformation of identity.
Photo by John T. Consoli
Chapel Oak being cut down and removed, August 2012.
Photo by John T. Consoli
Sham sketched an early version of the Chapel Oak Vessel in September 2013, including scale, size and measurements.
Courtesy of Foon Sham.
A more formal proposal drawing of the sculpture.
Courtesy of Foon Sham.
Standing amidst pieces of the Chapel Oak, Sham sorts out logs for his project near UMD's golf course.
Photo by Dane Winkler.
Sham cuts a log into planks in the wood shop of the Art-Sociology Building.
Photo by Michael Ekong.
The Chapel Oak Vessel in an early stage of construction.
Photo by Foon Sham.
The sculpture begins to take shape in Sham's Lorton, Virginia, studio.
Photo by Pui Sham.
Pui Sham, Foon's daughter, works on the final section of the sculpture, which is about 10 feet high.
Photo by Foon Sham.
Dane Winkler, a graduate assistant and driver, gets ready to transport sections of the sculpture to the Arlington Arts Center.
Photo by Foon Sham.
The sculpture is installed on a cold December day. At right, Chung Sham, Foon's son, operates the machine to put the top section in place.
Photo by Foon Sham.
Sham and his assistants pose in front of the completed Chapel Oak Vessel.
Photo Courtesy Arlington Arts Center.
Crowds gather at the sculpture for a spring event at the Arlington Arts Center.
Photo by Pui Sham.
Chapel Oak Vessel, Arlington Arts Center, Spring 2014.
Photo by John T. Consoli.