The valedictorian of sculpture had a terrible accident with a cutting machine, but overcame it thanks to passion.

(Dan Tri) - Le Quy Duc was once hit in the face by a cutting machine due to carelessness. The accident caused Quy Duc to have to get many stitches, stay in the hospital for a week and to this day still has a scar on his face.

Once afraid of cutting machines after an occupational accident, he had to get many stitches. Le Quy Duc (23 years old) is an excellent valedictorian of the sculpture department, Faculty of Sculpture, Vietnam University of Fine Arts. He is one of 96 valedictorians honored at the Ceremony to honor excellent valedictorians graduating from universities and academies in Hanoi in 2023, held at the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam. Being attached to the art of sculpture and experiencing many different materials brought the male valedictorian unforgettable memories. Once, while sculpting with stone-related materials, Quy Duc had an accident with a cutting machine. Duc recounted that while cutting a block of stone, he was hit in the face by the cutting machine due to carelessness. The male student could not help but panic despite receiving timely first aid. The accident caused Quy Duc to have many stitches, stay in the hospital for a week and still leaves a scar on his face. On the other hand, the block of stone that Duc used to complete the work was also broken in half. This resulted in Duc's work not being as expected when he had to find a way to reassemble the broken pieces to speed up the completion process. Not only that, it took Quy Duc about two months to adjust his mentality when using the cutting machine. He was always cautious when using the tool, had to ask someone else to cut for him or use the smallest mode during use.

Le Quy Duc during his graduation project (Photo: NVCC).

With many unfinished jobs and the nature of his studies requiring frequent use of cutting machines, the male student decided to face his fear and practice using cutting machines from the beginning. "I realized that I could not rely on people forever. I gradually increased the level and regained my courage when holding the machine," Quy Duc said. Now, Quy Duc can use the cutting machine as usual. According to the young artist, he commented that his current mentality when using tools is even stronger than before the accident. "In the past, I held the cutting machine with a carefree, comfortable mindset, not realizing the danger of the machine and only focusing on what I was doing. After the incident, I became more careful during practice, and at the same time realized that the work I was doing would have certain risks and faced everything more carefully and slowly," Quy Duc shared. Graduation project won an encouragement prize at the national exhibition

Le Quy Duc at the Ceremony to honor outstanding valedictorians graduating from universities and academies in Hanoi in 2023 (Photo: NVCC).

Born and raised in a family with a tradition of pursuing the art of painting, with both parents being art lecturers and his sister also an excellent graduate of the Vietnam University of Fine Arts, Le Quy Duc has nurtured a passion for art since childhood and formed a long-term orientation to pursue art. However, sculpture came to Le Quy Duc as an unexpected opportunity. After visiting and experiencing a sculpture class at the Vietnam University of Fine Arts, Duc developed an interest in this art form and decided to take the sculpture exam a year before the university entrance exam. "I feel that I am more suited to the "language" of sculpture, more suited to the meticulousness in creating shapes in three-dimensional space than in two-dimensional space on drawing paper. In addition, I also like to experience many different materials," Quy Duc shared. The end of his time as a sculpture student was the graduation project "Two-dimensional emotions" that Le Quy Duc spent about 6 months to complete. Unlike many people who choose soil as the material for their graduation project, the work of the male valedictorian is made of aluminum, about 1.5m high and placed on a platform about 90cm high. The male valedictorian said that during the process of making the project, he encountered many difficulties both technically and economically , besides having to use techniques that he had never done before such as 3D scanning. However, he still chose to pursue it to the end to challenge himself. With the encouragement and support from his family and teachers, Quy Duc completed his graduation project and is confident in the quality of his work.

Le Quy Duc's graduation project consists of two sculptures, each expressing a different emotion but with almost the same appearance (Photo: Le Quy Duc).

Talking about the meaning and message of his graduation project, Le Quy Duc was greatly inspired by the Covid-19 break. The valedictorian shared that this was a time that helped him slow down, think more and find many sources of inspiration for his creations. According to Quy Duc, he really likes a saying he once heard: "When doing art, we have to solve a problem, if not a social problem, then it is our personal problem". The saying and the context inspired him to create later works, "Two Dimensions of Emotion" is one of them. "During the quarantine period, I saw many other high-rise buildings, each window had a family. They all had their own lives during the pandemic. Outside, everyone had positive beliefs that Covid-19 would soon pass, but deep inside they still had worries, pressures and fears about the pandemic. My work expressed two different emotions like that," Duc shared. Commenting on his student, Mr. Le Lang Luong, lecturer at the Faculty of Sculpture at the Vietnam University of Fine Arts, who is also the supervisor of Quy Duc's graduation project, said that the young artist has a good knowledge base, is always serious and determined in his work. During the process of implementing the project, Duc, like many other artists, had to face difficulties in expressing his attitude through the language of art in the most "valuable" and unique way to speak through his work. "One of the breakthroughs in Duc's progress shown through the project is the way he chose the technique and material to express. After experimenting with many different solutions, Duc came up with the solution of converting from a block structure to a sliced ​​structure using 3D technology and CNC cutting (cutting metal along any curve using computer software, under a pre-designed drawing)", Mr. Luong shared. As a result, the project not only helped Le Quy Duc graduate with honors in the sculpture major of the Vietnam University of Fine Arts, but also helped the male student win an encouragement prize in the National 5-year Sculpture Competition and Exhibition.

Le Quy Duc won an encouragement prize at the National 5-year Sculpture Competition and Exhibition (Photo: NVCC).

Mr. Luong also shared: "Students who successfully complete a graduation project should not only look at the final result as its success, but more importantly, they should be aware of the process of searching, building and perfecting the work from the idea to the skill of expressing the work. The most important thing is that students can prepare themselves with the mindset of an artist." As a result, the project not only helped Le Quy Duc graduate with honors in the sculpture major of the Vietnam University of Fine Arts, but also helped the male student win an encouragement prize in the national 5-year sculpture competition and exhibition. Sharing about his upcoming plans, Le Quy Duc plans to continue studying for a master's degree at the Vietnam University of Fine Arts to expand his opportunities and learn more about sculpture. Besides, he wants to improve himself in as many fields as possible besides sculpture. Previously, Quy Duc participated in several sculpture workshops, worked as a design intern for a book company and did branding for several other companies.

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