Mark and Diane Weisbeck, the award winning husband and wife sculpture team and the only artists to represent both New York and the United States in the 2008 Beijing, China Olympics Landscape Sculpture competition, have unveiled a 32 foot tall brass and stainless steel public waterfront sculpture.

For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, art has been an official category of competition. With 2600 international sculpture design submissions, only 8 finalists chosen by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, were Americans. Only two were from New York. Winners of the prestigious “Excellent Works” Award, Mark and Diane Weisbeck have been creating modern products, art and sculpture since 1985. “It was an incredible honor to be the only artists to represent New York as well as the United States in the Beijing Olympics,” stated Mark Weisbeck. The Weisbeck's award winning Olympic sculpture, “The Celebration of Ren” was conceived of as a 50 foot tall “brush stroke,” based on the Chinese pictograph, or letter, “ren,” which means people.

With a grant from the New York State Department of State, the Weisbecks were funded $70,000.00 to create the 2 and ½ ton “Water Spirits”. The public sculpture was unveiled in a ribbon cutting ceremony, on July 11, 2008, Rochester, New York, in which Diane Weisbeck was lifted 30 feet in the air with the help of a cherry picker bucket truck.

“Water Spirits” took 9 months to construct. The two entwined, stylized human figures represent all people of the world in peace and unity. Together they hold aloft a modern version of an ancient water vessel; a symbolic tribute to the life giving, vital waterways of our planet. The monumental sculpture was dedicated to the citizens of Rochester, New York, USA.