Roots of Knowledge

Roots of Knowledge

Introduction

When I saw the Roots of Knowledge for my first time on February 16, I was amazingly interested in it. The subjects I love to do are history, music, and nature.  There are many questions I was asking myself: What were the origins of this idea? Who had the idea for creating this window? Who is the artist? What are the ideas or the meaning inside the art of the window?  I will discuss each of these questions in this paper.

The Making

The the project was created by Tom Holdman, his artists at Holdman Studios, Roots Media, and students from UVU. The way they made the windows is quite interesting. First, they used mind maps to separate it to different eras and timelines. Second, they converted it into a sketch and put it in Photoshop so they could find different images and put them in one window. Third, once they had the design, they put it in Illustrator and created red lines so they could piece out the glass and bring it to the painting room where their artists started painting the images into the pieces. Fourth, they looked at the windows without putting them together, because they could change a piece if they didn’t like how it turned out.. After tweaking the design, they built it.

While Tom and his artists were making the windows, UVU students were given a concept art drawing and then Tom and his artists got feedback from the student team about things that were missing or needed to be changed because it was inaccurate. The students gave feedback to Tom and his team on the development of the concept of each window.             

President’s Response

Matt Holland, the president of UVU, said, “This is a project that I believe will set the world aflame, and the world will come to see this. We have got to make this happen. This is to be a central part of the university.” President Holland is saying that engaged learning is a vital component in today’s society. He says that the world will come and be amazed at this piece of art that was created by people who brought this together. In the last part of his statement, President Holland said that The Roots of Knowledge will be a central part of the campus. UVU is a place where all kinds of people come and learn about the The Roots of Knowledge. It will be a symbol of every person’s life quest for education and career success.     

CEO and Artist

Tom Holdman, the CEO of Holdman Studios, started his visual arts journey in his childhood. As he had a severe stutter, he found it easier to communicate through art. When he was in high school, he had his first experience in art glass when his art teacher saw his potential. When he was 21, he started his first art studio in his parents garage and he found patrons by going door to door. With the money that he earned, he traveled to Europe to study the works of masterful stained glass artists as well as other art forms. When he got back from Europe, he committed himself to create monumental works of art that would touch the lives of others. 20 years later, Tom now owns and operates Holdman Studios Inc. located in Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah. Tom now has many fantastic works around the globe. He has done stained glass works in many LDS temples, public libraries, and many other places worldwide.     

How we can learn from art

When we get homework assignments, we sometimes try to do the assignments and we fall short. Homework is stressful. But homework is stressful because that’s just what life is. Life puts you down because you don’t understand who you really are. But when we learn from art, we see a different view of ourselves and our knowledge. There’s a quote by Beethoven that says, “Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into into it’s secrets, for it and knowledge can raise men to the divine.” That quote says that there’s a spiritual side of learning. I think that both temporal and spiritual truths can be communicated through art. If we learn the spiritual side, we will have a better understanding of the temporal stuff. The Roots of Knowledge is just like that. When we engage our minds on art, we can be inspired to do better on our homework.         

Conclusion

The Roots of Knowledge is a phenomenal piece of art. I really can see this project as being a central part of the university. Going back to what Matt Holland said, I think what he said will come true. The world will come and see this piece of art. I love learning because it helps me to succeed. I invite everyone to be inspired by The Roots of Knowledge. We need to remember that learning can be difficult, but it’s worth the effort and sacrifice.