For Handel

For Handel, created by Mark di Suvero, is one of the most striking pieces on the Western Washington Campus and just one of the many in the Western Sculpture Collection. Resting between the Preforming Arts Center and the WWU Bookstore, the scene is completed by the stunning backdrop: The Bellingham Bay. Together, the bay and the massive steel structure work together to complete a beautiful scenery. The short distance away from the Performing Arts Center is significant as this piece was a tribute to the famous composer, George Frederic Handel.

The sharp angles and edges of For Handel represent the normal style demonstrated in his other sculptures, which are scattered in lawns and outdoor museums all over the world. It is an interactive piece, as you can walk around and under it, offering several different perspectives of this brightly painted steel structure. Although the swing that once hung from it was removed decades ago for liability reasons, it is not uncommon to see people resting at the top of it, taking advantage of the beautiful views.

Mark di Suvero

Mark di Suvero was born in Shanghai China in 1933, but grew up in California with his two Italian parents. Even after an intense accident in the early 1970’s, Suvero continued making outdoor sculptures and was the first to have his work displayed in the Tuileries Gardens in Paris in 1975. That year, the public began to notice Mark di Suvero and his work. His sculptures are often large, steel, monumental structures that work together with nature to complete a scene. His inspiration for the piece For Handel was composer G.F. Handel. He felt that music and art went hand in hand and wanted his sculptures to have a musical movement.

He made a studio out of a warehouse in 1985, which was a precursor for his work becoming more visually intricate, featuring sharp angles and shapes. In creating For Handel, Suvero used a combination of music and sculpture to create the piece. In looking at it, the viewer gets a sense of movement but also strength because of the steel. He had a lot of his work shown in other museums and outdoor areas in Paris and in Metropolitan New York. Besides For Handel, other titles of his work include: Beethoven’s Quartet located in Toronto, Frog’s Legs, Yes! For Lady Day, Beyond made in 2004, Aesope’s Fabels made in 1990, and Destino made in 2003. He has since received several awards including a Smithsonian Institution Archives of American Art medal, National Medal of Art, and a Gold Medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Works Cited

Brenson, Michael. “A SCULPTURE PARK FOR DI SUVERO’S LADDERS TO THE SKY.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 Aug. 1985. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

Degman Maggie Degman The Western Front | 0 comments, Maggie. “Keeping up on the arts: The rumored history of “For Handel”.” The Western Front. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

Editorial, Artsy, and Julie Baumgardner. “The Most Iconic Artists of the 1970s.” Artsy. N.p., 11 Aug. 2015. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

 Gates of Steel: Mark di Suvero and his path to Welding. Perf. Mark di Suvero. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2013. Short Video . Gates of steel: Mark di Suvero and his path to welding. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 23 May 2013. Web. 06 Feb. 2017. This is a video source from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. They create videos about artists and art and publish them to their youtube channel. This is my non-website based resource.

“For Handel – Abstract Public Sculptures on Waymarking.com.” For Handel     – Abstract Public Sculptures on Waymarking.com. Way Marking, Jan. 2017.   Web. 07 Feb. 2017.

Keeping up on the Arts: The Rumored History of “For Handel” Maggie Degman The Western Front | 0 c. “Keeping up on the Arts: The Rumored History of “For Handel”.” The Western Front. Maggie Degman, 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2017

“Sculpture.org.” Sculpture.org. Sculpture Magazine, June 2005. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.

Suvero, Mark Di. Mark Di Suvero. Tokyo: Akira Ikeda Gallery, 1991. Print.

This post was created by Madi Myers and Ally Oser