The Normanno Wedge, by Beverly Pepper
The Normanno Wedge, located on the South Campus of Western Washington University, was made out of cast iron in 1980, along with the close by Normanno Column. Beverly Pepper was very much inspired by the rise of industrialization and advancements of technology within the late 70’s, and thus made reference to the Wedge as a tool.
During the incarnation of the Normanno Wedge, modernism was heavily influenced by the growth of metropolitan buildings and works, and artists delved into creating big simplistic metal structures. Pepper continued to create Wedge structures around the world, including the Cleopatra’s Wedge in New Jersey and the Ternana Wedge in Washington D.C.
About the Artist:
Beverly Pepper was born in December of 1922, in Brooklyn, New York. She entered Pratt Institute at 16 years old, where she studied advertising design, architecture, and photography. While originally a painter, after a trip to Cambodia in 1962, witnessed the ruins there and decided to pursue sculpting. To this day, she continues to make works out of various materials, such as wood, steel, cast iron, and bronze.
Other Works:
Normanno Column – Bellingham, WA. Created in 1979-1980, another piece on the Western Washington campus
https://wp.wwu.edu/wwuart109/2017/05/12/normanno-column-beverly-pepper-3/
The Todi Columns – Todi, Italy, 1979. Fabricated steel.
http://www.beverlypepper.net/installations/todi
Split Ritual A- 1996 Street Park Avenue, New York. Cast Iron.
http://www.beverlypepper.net/installations/park-ave
Sand Dunes- New Smyrna, Florida 1985. Mylar and wood.
http://www.beverlypepper.net/installations/new-smyrna
Post by
Gage Winter, Olivia Falls-Kulak, Conner Smith-Maxwell
Leave a Reply