A little art and SOUL

To construct beautiful pieces, artists must have visions. Artist William Snapp knows about vision; it woke him in the middle of the night more than 40 years ago.\nEighty-three-year-old Snapp, known on campus as the creator of the sculpture Search of Universal Light that sits in the Indiana Memorial Union courtyard, first became interested in sculpture in fifth grade after a teacher showed him the movie "The Sign of the Cross."\n"The interesting Roman and Greek sculpture fascinated me in a permanent way," Snapp said.\nOnce in high school, Snapp's artwork was noticed by a teacher who suggested to Snapp's father that he should go to art school at the Indiana Academy of Commercial Art in Indianapolis. And so he went, receiving his first professional guidance.\nIn the 1960s, Snapp did mostly portrait work, as well as oil paintings of seascapes and landscapes. At the time, the world was divided by the powerhouse territories the USSR and the United States. The countries were each desperately trying to be the first into space, and the rest of the world was on edge as the two countries developed nuclear weapons.\nIn 1963, Snapp woke up at 2 a.m. with a vision of a symbol of peace. The statue, which would later be known as SOUL, became the realization of this vision.\n"We should live on earth without nuclear war," Snapp said. "The devastation it causes, destroying the air, and the radiation exposure."\nSnapp cites his strong faith as his motivation to work toward his dream.\n"God is where my strength comes from, my joy and happiness," Snapp said.\nTwenty-three years later, the first sculpture was completed. Indianapolis residents Herbert and Barbara Simon saw the model at an exhibit and commissioned Snapp for the first bronze casting.\nWith the money from the SOUL purchase, Snapp was able to donate the second copy of SOUL to IU in 1989. The sculpture, after being stolen and recovered twice, still sits in the court yard.\nThomas Simmons, associate director of the IMU, said SOUL was placed in the court yard after agreements between Snapp and former Chancellor Herman B Wells.\n"Chancellor Wells thought the statue fit in the courtyard because of the time," Simmons said. "There is good traffic, and people seem to really like it."\nToday, Snapp is working on a nine foot model of SOUL at the White River Foundry. The model will be one of two Snapp wishes to place in Washington D.C. and Moscow, Russia.\n"My vision is to place one in the capital of Russia and one in the capital of the United States." Snapp said. "It speaks for both hemispheres,"\nSherry Rouse is curator of campus art and in charge of all the artwork not in a museum for each of IU's campuses. Rouse said local artwork gives people enjoyment besides just entertainment.\n"Supporting local artwork and festivals brings more color and beauty into our lives," Rouse said.\nRouse said one of the important features of many of the pieces on campus like SOUL is the piece's ability to make people think in a historical context.\n"Artwork on campus, like the Thomas Hart Benton murals, force us to think of history," Rouse said.\nSnapp dreams peace will continue all over the world, and through his God-given gift of sculpting, SOUL will provide that hope.\n"Art speaks an international language," Snapp said. "The Statue of Liberty, Mt. Rushmore ... (speak) of silent lips, perfect grace."\n-- Contact staff writer Ashley Lough at amlough@indiana.edu.