In October 2021, Kansas City University (KCU) added an important piece of Kansas City history to its north campus with the installation of The Fountain of Good Life, a George Tsutakawa bronze sculpture donated by Tower Properties and underwritten by the William T. Kemper Foundation – Commerce Bank, Trustee. Originally located at 10th and Main in downtown Kansas City, the fountain is now a permanent display in front of the KCU Strickland Education Pavilion on the Kansas City campus.
Tsutakawa, a painter, sculptor and professor, is world-renowned for his fountain sculptures that express the relationship between man and nature. He describes his work as “…an attempt to unify water—the life force of the universe that flows in an elusive cyclical course throughout eternity—with an immutable metal sculpture.” This particular sculpture resembles a lotus flower just before blooming. Vertical jets of water are propelled through the center of the sculpture and fan over and through the petals of the flower.
The presence of The Fountain of Good Life on the KCU campus is fitting as its theme is in alignment with the AT Still, DO philosophy of osteopathic medicine. In Still‘s The Philosophy and Mechanical Principles of Osteopathy, 1892, he states that “life is matter in motion.” Still believed that a healthy state exists as long as there is a normal flow of body fluids and nerve activity in a person’s body. The open flow of energy and fluids equates to good health, and good health is a primary component of a good life.
The fountain is an emblem for KCU’s mission – to improve the well-being of the communities we serve –to lift others up to as good a life as possible. We give the gift of “good life” to others by educating physicians and health sciences professionals, elevating the health of the planet and serving to support the dreams and goals of our communities.
May the melodious waters that flow through the fountain continually remind us that a good life is ours if we honor the flow of life force energy every day by caring for others and caring for ourselves.
A Brief History of the Fountain
The Fountain of Good Life was originally commissioned in 1964 by Commerce Tower and installed as part of their building design at 10th and Main.
KCU is honored to be the steward of this stunning work of art and piece of Kansas City downtown history. We thank the William T. Kemper Foundation and Commerce Bank for their generosity and for this meaningful gift.
