Hai Ying Wu

{{short description|Chinese American sculptor}}

{{about|the sculptor known as Jason Wu|the fashion designer|Jason Wu}}

{{Infobox artist

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| name = Hai Ying Wu

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| birth_place = China

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| field = art, memorials

| training = Sichuan Fine Arts Institute

| movement = Socialist realism

| works = Seattle Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial, Auto-Lite Strike Memorial

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Hai Ying Wu (also known as Jason Wu) is a Chinese American sculptor best known for his firefighter memorials.{{cite news| url=http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2007/06/12/Toledo-s-fallen-firefighters-are-honored-in-memorial.html| title=Toledo's fallen firefighters are honored in memorial| author=Christina Hall| work=The Toledo Blade| date=June 12, 2007}} and his memorial commemorating the Auto-Lite Strike in Toledo, Ohio.

A native of China, Wu received his degree in sculpture from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, and became staff sculptor for the city of Chengdu on the Chengdu Public Arts Commission.[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Z6IMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OmIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6359,376416&dq=hai+ying+wu "School Offers Art Sessions." The Arlington Times. November 9, 1994.]{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}[http://archives.dailyuw.com/1997/012197/memorial.012197.html Monsanto, Mae. "Warning: One Hot Creation." Daily UW. January 21, 1997.]{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} He worked primarily in public art and in the "socialist realist" genre.[http://www.seattlepi.com/archives/1996/9605170072.asp Paynter, Susan. "Artist Tributes to Firefighters Cause Sparks." Seattle Post-Intelligencer. May 17, 1996.] A large number of his public art works can be seen in Chengdu. He participated in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, and was caught in the square when the Chinese military attacked the demonstrators.{{Cite web |url=http://www.uaw.org/solidarity/02/1202/feature08.html |title=John, Jennifer. "A Promise Kept." UAW Solidarity. December 12, 2002. |access-date=March 18, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126014937/http://www.uaw.org/solidarity/02/1202/feature08.html |archive-date=January 26, 2009 |url-status=dead }} He emigrated to the United States later that same year, and in time became a U.S. citizen. He worked in construction and as a dishwasher before enrolling in the University of Washington School of Art. He graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree.{{Cite web |url=http://www.seattle.gov/fire/firefighting/fallenFFmemorial.htm |title="Seattle Fallen Firefighter's Memorial." Seattle Fire Department. City of Seattle, Washington. November 28, 2006. |access-date=March 18, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513222503/http://www.seattle.gov/fire/firefighting/fallenFFMemorial.htm |archive-date=May 13, 2008 |url-status=dead }} For his master's thesis, he designed a memorial to 19th-century Chinese railroad workers which was later installed in a park in Tacoma, Washington.

As of 2007, he divided his time between his home in Everett, Washington,{{Cite web |date=2011-09-14 |title=Check out public art in Glendale |url=https://www.glendalestar.com/features/check-out-public-art-in-glendale/article_00f337f6-de1d-11e0-805a-001cc4c03286.html |access-date=2025-06-11 |website=The Glendale Star |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Muhlstein |first=Julie |date=2011-01-20 |title=Where are the sculptures? |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/where-are-the-sculptures/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-11 |website=HeraldNet.com |language=en-US}} and China.[http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070611/NEWS16/706110345/-1/NEWS Hall, Christina. "Final 3 Chosen for Memorial to Toledo Firefighters." Toledo Blade. June 11, 2007.]

Wu is best known for sculpting the Seattle Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial in Seattle's Pioneer Square.Schubert, Ruth. "Memorial Honors 31 Firefighters Who Gave Everything." Seattle Post-Intelligencer. January 24, 1997; Ohlsen, Becky. Seattle: City Guide. Oakland, Calif.: Lonely Planet Books, 2008. {{ISBN|1-74059-834-2}}. A design competition was held among all interested students in the UW School of Arts, and Wu's design was chosen. He has erected similar memorials throughout the Pacific Northwest. He also created the Auto-Lite Strike Memorial in Toledo, which commemorates the violent United Auto Workers strike of 1934."Auto-Lite Strike Memorial." Toledo Blade. May 25, 2006. His work for Compass Health in Everett, Washington, was his first sculpture to focus on children.[http://www.compasshealth.org/News%20Release%20Hai%20Ying%20Wu.htm "Artist Gives from the Heart to Encourage Young Troubled Souls." Press release. Compass Health. January 21, 2003.]