The Mr. Wired statue is currently on loan to MTU on the first floor of the library. This eye-catching, 14 year-old copper figure spikes wonder in students as they pass by it when heading towards the library’s cafe.
The statue, named ‘Wired,’ is an artistic piece by Dave Masten, which won first place for 3D art in 2013 at the Great Lakes Showcase Awards. A retirement project that started as just a hand, turned into a work of inspiration. Masten’s core idea is, “You can’t unplug very easily these days.” He wanted to make something physical and real to represent his ideas. With the hectic nature of college students pursuing their careers, they can quickly get overwhelmed at some point. Near the statue’s feet there is an electrical circuit box that’s plugged into the statue; making sure the figure is always online in a shackle-like manner. Masten mentions, “We have the Internet, smartphones, iPads, iPods. They’re all coming at you.” The world is only getting more and more connected and not vice versa.
Austin, a student working at the cafe, compared the statue to Zeus because of the extreme connectedness. In his mind, the wires are the path the electricity takes and it’s overwhelming. No one can take that extreme amount of connectedness unless they are Zeus. Also, he thought the copper coffee cup that the figure is holding is like the fuel it needs to keep going. To help students stay on track, they can focus on better schedule planning, learning to take breaks, and realizing that they are human. Masten realized that thoughts, feelings, and emotions get stuck in the backs of our brains. His mission was to express that in a physical and artistic way. The copper wires in the statue are mixes of coils, springs, and wires that are all wound together.
