By JENNY GIAUQUE
The new statue in the Joseph Smith Building will be dedicated Friday.
The statue for the Joseph Smith Building is, 'The Vision.' Alumni Association information states 'the sculpture shows Joseph Smith kneeling, looking hopefully up into the heavens, at the moment prior to the heavenly manifestation of heavenly beings.'
Connie Cluff, coordinator of alumni programs, said the Alumni Association has been working on the project with reunion groups on campus.
'The statue has been implemented through the efforts of the 1945 and 1955 graduating classes,' Cluff said. 'The money for the statue was donated by these classes.'
Alan K. Parrish, associate professor of ancient scripture, said that the class reunion committees of these two classes desired to give a gift to the university.
'The gift they gave when they graduated was cash to the then new Joseph Smith Building,' Parrish said. 'When they found that the new Joseph Smith Building was being built, they unanimously voted to give something for the new building.'
Parrish said he contacted Eugene Fairbanks, son of the sculptor, Avard T. Fairbanks to find what art was available. Fairbanks sent two or three ideas.
'I thought this was the best option,' Parrish said.
The statue was sculpted by Avard Fairbanks. Information from the Alumni Association states that Fairbanks was born near the turn of the century and sculpted since the age of 12. He sculpted several monuments throughout his lifetime.
Parrish said that Fairbanks originally sculpted the piece to go against a wall. He said that Fairbanks's son, Justin, who is also a sculptor did the back portion of the piece.
'The casting process ended up costing double the amount anticipated, so two more classes were asked to participate in the project,' Cluff said.
The graduating classes of 1947 and 1957 are now also involved.
Cluff said that the religion department will also be contributing. They will be donating funds to plant trees in the atrium to surround the statue.
'This will create the feel of the sacred grove,' Cluff said.
'The reaction to the statue has been astounding,' Parrish said. 'Everyone agrees that this is what should be in this spot.'
The LDS church is justified by what happened in the sacred grove, Parrish said. We need to depict the Joseph Smith story appropriately.
'This is our story,' Parrish said. 'We are walking on hollowed ground.'