A monumental legacy and a son’s enduring pride

Daripada Memorial Iwo Jima di Amerika Syarikat hingga Tugu Negara dan patung Tunku Abdul Rahman, Felix de Weldon meninggalkan legasi seni yang merentasi benua. (Gambar Wikipedia / Facebook Midhun Sekhar)PETALING JAYA: Ketika Daniel de Weldon berdiri di hadapan Tugu Negara buat kali pertama, dia seakan-akan berdepan sendiri dengan satu babak penting dalam kehidupan mendiang bapanya yang berlaku ribuan kilometer dari tanah air mereka.Bagi rakyat Malaysia, Tugu Negara menjadi lambang perjuangan dan kebebasan yang dikenang setiap kali sambutan Merdeka. Bagi Daniel pula, monumen itu turut membawa legasi bapanya, pengukir kelahiran Austria yang kemudian menjadi warga Amerika Syarikat, Felix de Weldon.Felix mereka bentuk dan mengukir monumen gangsa itu bagi memperingati mereka yang terkorban dalam perjuangan mempertahankan kebebasan negara.Daniel yang menetap di Los Angeles dijemput ke Malaysia pada 2022 untuk menghadiri satu acara anjuran Arkib Negara dan Kedutaan Austria, termasuk pameran mengenai sejarah Tugu Negara.Di situ, dia menemui beberapa gambar Felix bersama Tunku Abdul Rahman yang tidak pernah dilihatnya sebelum ini.“Perasaan saya ketika itu sukar digambarkan,” kata pelakon dan penulis berusia 55 tahun itu kepada FMT Lifestyle.Kunjungan ke Tugu Negara pada 2022 membawa Daniel de Weldon lebih dekat kepada satu babak kehidupan bapanya yang sebelum itu hanya dikenalinya dari jauh.

(Gambar Azren Putra / Daniel de Weldon)Felix turut menghasilkan Memorial Perang Kor Marin Amerika Syarikat di Arlington, Virginia, yang lebih dikenali sebagai Memorial Iwo Jima.Menurut Daniel, Tunku melihat monumen itu ketika berkunjung ke Amerika Syarikat dan mendapat ilham untuk membina sebuah monumen serupa di Malaysia.“Bapa saya sangat teruja apabila Tunku menghubunginya untuk makan tengah hari. Tunku memberitahunya, ‘Kami mahu menugaskan anda menghasilkan monumen negara untuk Malaysia’,” katanya.Felix juga mengukir patung Tunku yang kini berdiri di kompleks Parlimen Malaysia, tidak jauh dari Tugu Negara.Daniel berkata bapanya, yang dianugerahkan gelaran “Tan Sri”, sering bercerita mengenai kemesraan dan layanan baik Tunku terhadapnya.Dia percaya kedua-dua tokoh itu menjadi rapat kerana berkongsi pegangan terhadap kemerdekaan serta hak sesebuah negara untuk menentukan pemerintahannya sendiri, nilai yang cuba diterjemahkan Felix menerusi banyak hasil seninya.Felix bersama ist… From the Iwo Jima Memorial in the United States to Tugu Negara and this statue of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Felix de Weldon left a monumental legacy across continents.

(Wikipedia / Midhun Sekhar Facebook pics)PETALING JAYA: When Daniel de Weldon stood before Tugu Negara for the first time, he came face to face with a chapter of his late father’s life that had unfolded thousands of kilometres from home.To Malaysians, the national monument is a reminder of the freedom celebrated each Merdeka. To Daniel, it is also the legacy of his father, Austrian-American sculptor Felix de Weldon.Felix designed and sculpted the majestic bronze monument, which commemorates those who gave their lives in Malaysia’s struggle for independence.Daniel, who is based in Los Angeles, was invited in 2022 to attend an event organised by the National Archives and the Austrian embassy in Malaysia, which included an exhibition on the history of Tugu Negara.There, he discovered photographs of Felix with Tunku Abdul Rahman he had never seen before. “It was overwhelming,” the 55-year-old actor and writer told FMT Lifestyle.“You could see how close they were, from photos of them at dinners to those taken at the site where Tugu Negara was erected.

It was an incredible, personal and deep friendship."By visiting Tugu Negara in 2022, Daniel de Weldon came face to face with a chapter of his father’s life he had previously known only from afar. (Azren Putra / Daniel de Weldon pics)Felix was also the sculptor behind the United States Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, commonly known as the Iwo Jima Memorial.According to Daniel, Tunku saw that memorial during a trip to the US and was inspired to create a similar monument for Malaysia.“My father was very excited when he was contacted by Tunku to have lunch. Tunku said, ‘We’d like to commission you to do the national monument for Malaysia'," Daniel recounted.Felix also sculpted the statue of Tunku that stands at the Malaysian Parliament complex, located only a short distance from Tugu Negara.Daniel said his father, who was conferred the title "Tan Sri", often spoke about the warmth and kindness Tunku showed him.He believes the two men bonded over their belief in independence and a nation’s right to govern itself: ideals that Felix sought to convey through much of his work.Felix and his wife, Margot, whose family story is now being preserved by…