After 48 years, Timmy the Titan has finally retired his red suspenders and gruffy hairstyle for gold cuffs, a cape and an epic air.
The recently finished Timmy the Titan sculpture is currently being displayed at the front entrance of the new Titan Gym. Designing and building the seven-foot-tall bronze sculpture proved to be no small feat. The project started in 2011, when ceramics teacher Eric Bowman proposed to redefine the Titan mascot. Bowman sought out three art students—alumni Tony Yin, Charlie Yang and William Wang—to help him design the sculpture.
Over two years, Bowman and the art students were able to construct a design that they hoped would both depict the strength of a Titan and inspire the student body. “Because we all put in so much effort to create a statue that represented power and agility, I hope students will be inspired when looking at our statue,” Yin said. “[I hope they will] be inspired to follow their passion, be strong and be hardworking.”
The Titan sculpture started off as a 13-inch bronze maquette and was eventually enlarged into a seven-foot-tall styrofoam mold. “The styrofoam part of the build was definitely the hardest,” Yang explained. “A lot of small discrepancies in proportion that you wouldn’t notice on the smaller sculpture were blown up and much easier to see in the larger one.”
From there, the mold was shipped to a bronze factory where professional artists made the mold, poured the parts and assembled the statue. “The project is something awesome and new that no other school is doing, and I hope that people recognize that,” Yang said. “It was a really cool opportunity to give back to Gunn and the sculpture department.”
Overall, the reception from the student body regarding the new statue has been generally positive. “I can’t tell why, but the Titan strikes a sort of pride in me,” junior Anjali Herekar said. “It makes me feel like I attend a very powerful and zealous school.”