The fountain near the entrance to one of the academic buildings caught my eye during my walk around the park and campus of the Polytechnic University. At first I didn't notice anything special about this fountain, from a distance it seemed ordinary - an ordinary round bowl and water gushing upward - it was similar to many other fountains. But in any case, I was glad that there was such a cozy place in one of the squares on the school campus, with a fountain and comfortable benches.
I walked closer to rest by the fountain - it would have been hard to find a better place to rest on a hot summer day. On closer inspection, it turned out that both the fountain itself and the space beside it deserved a closer look. What from afar seemed to be abstract geometric figures, up close became silhouettes of people (apparently, students), comfortably seated on a granite circle.
I noticed a dark figure behind the backs of three elderly ladies resting on a bench. This sculpture is a generalized image of a polytechnic student. It is interesting that the design of this sculpture has been developed for several years by students and teachers of the Polytechnic University. They studied all the details of the student uniform from the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries in the archives, trying to make the image as authentic as possible, and developed a rough draft. Professional sculptor, member of the Union of Artists, Evelina Solovyova joined the work at the final stage. I really liked the outcome of a large number of people working together. It seems that the bench with the resting student is a window to a past century, it looks very natural and appropriate.
Another small monument is located on the other side of the fountain. It looks like a low granite pedestal. I was very surprised to read the plaque that is attached to the top. It reads: "Time Capsule. An address to the youth of the year 2068." It was unexpected. Laying time capsules was a popular tradition in the 1960s. It was a time of great achievements, it was a time of the beginning of space exploration, it was a time of faith in a bright future. One such message was placed on the campus of the Polytechnic University in 1968. That message was revealed and read 50 years later, in 2018. Students in 1968 wrote, "May your life be more joyful. May the earth cultivated by you be more beautiful. You will be better than we are, and for that we will spare no self." In place of the old message is now a new text waiting to be read in the year 2068.
I took one of the benches to watch the fountain jets, and suddenly I noticed that the water turned different shades of green, blue, purple... The sun was shining very brightly, and these shades were barely discernible. I became interested in this phenomenon and came closer. It turns out that the fountain has a colored backlighting. It must be very beautiful in the evening! During the day, the color is almost invisible, but still adds to the charm of the fountain.
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| Smartphone | Google Pixel 3a |
| Location | Saint Petersburg, Russia |