Sculptural Ex Libris for Vydūnas

30 March 2018 marked the official opening of the sculptural ex-libris for the 150th birth anniversary of the Lithuanian philosopher Vydūnas. The ex libris was opened in Jonas Viktoras Kalvanas Park in Tauragė city centre. The author of the idea is the sculptor Regimantas Midvikis.
R. Midvikis (1947–2015), the winner of the Lithuanian National Culture and Arts Prize, hailing from Tauragė, was always fascinated by the ideas, philosophy and works of Vydūnas. When the idea of decorating Tauragė with sculptural ex libris was finally adopted, the artist started creating sketches to commemorate Vydūnas. The drawing of the sculptural ex libris that the author really liked was deeply buried in the archives of his drawings and writings. Discovered by the artist’s family, the spatial ex libris was developed into what now can be seen at J. V. Kalvanas Park by the sculptor Gintautas Jonkus and the architect Vytenis Mazurkevičius.
The fine plastic art doesn’t need large spaces and the works look good from all sides. Thus Vydūnas’ thoughts are entwined in his hair to encourage the viewer to take a deeper look into this personality.
The philosopher, writer, publicist and cultural figure Vilhelmas Storosta (artistic name Vydūnas, Ger. Wilhelm Storost) was born on 22 March 1868 in Jonaičiai (Šilutė County, Kingdom of Prussia). He died on 20 February 1953 in Detmold, Germany. On 19 October 1991, his body was reburied at Bitėnai Cemetery. There is evidence of Vydūnas visiting Tauragė.

Compiled in 2018