NEWS

Mural created by art students to be unveiled in GTM

May 19, 2015 | Liberal Arts

The unveiling of a service project in the Louisiana Tech University campus is slated to showcase senior art students’ work in George T. Madison (GTM) Hall.
Associate professor Nick Bustamante’s senior level art students have created a mural titled, “The Myth of the Koi” on the wall outside of GTM, Room 105. The unveiling of the project will take place at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21 at the mural.
Students Maggie Tobert, Michael Blackson, Nicole Johnson and Jesse Suggs created the mural, which was inspired by the myth of the koi fish.
According to Chinese legend, a school of golden koi was swimming upstream in the Yellow River. They gained strength against the current and glittered as they swam through the river until they reached a waterfall at the end of the river. Many of the koi turned back, letting the flow of the river carry them away, but the remaining koi refused to give up and kept leaping to reach the top of the waterfall.
The efforts of the koi caught the attention of the local demons, who mocked them. After 100 years, one koi finally reached the top of the waterfall. The gods rewarded the koi’s perseverance and determination and turned the fish into a golden dragon.
Because of the lone fish that made it to the top of the waterfall, the koi are recognized as symbols of a destiny fulfilled. The mural is meant to be inspirational as well as a metaphor for the experience of students attending Louisiana Tech.
The community is invited to attend the unveiling, which takes place two days before spring graduation.
Written by Judith Roberts – jroberts@latech.edu