There’s a good chance that for a huge number of WWU students, when on the subject of sculptures on campus, For Handel is the first one to come to mind. Thanks to its bright red color, towering height of 27 feet, and central location, For Handel can serve as a landmark for prospective or new WWU students who don’t know the campus very well. Every WWU student as well as most of Bellingham is sure to be familiar with this sculpture. However, not everyone is familiar with its history and reason for being in its specific location on WWU campus, and this knowledge can lead to even better appreciation of it. It was created by Mark di Suvero as a tribute to German-English baroque composer George Frederic Handel. Suvero, an ex-construction worker and metal (the material)/music enthusiast, chose For Handel’s location in front of the PAC intentionally. The steel I-beams it is made of can show connections to both Suvero’s appreciation of construction and his love of music. The steel I-beams lean against one another in a balancing act that reflects Suvero’s knowledge of construction, and the shape they create can be reminiscent of a musical note, not to mention the resonating sound the steel can create if hit the right way. It is even possible to climb For Handel, which gives it an interactive quality that is not present among most other WWU sculptures. With its lively colors, elements of fun, and rich history, For Handel is a valuable sculpture to have on WWU campus, and it is worth knowing about.

Varying weather conditions tie into people's varying opinions on For Handel.

Varying weather conditions tie into people’s varying opinions on For Handel.

For Handel has potential to ignite many different reactions among students, but here’s mine:

With its abstract qualities, resemblance to a musical note, and playful geometric form, For Handel is aimed at igniting an emotional response for its viewers. For me, it definitely has this effect. I am drawn to its lively colors and inviting angles and bends. The fact that it can be climbed on gives me a greater appreciation of it, as that means it’s not only something visually stimulating to look at, but it can also provide a sweeping view of the Bellingham Bay, or be a place to have a good time with friends. Its shape is geometric but not uniform or symmetrical, giving it a somewhat nonsensical and carefree aesthetic quality. Its location on campus, half on grass and half on pavement, surrounded by trees and buildings and set against a backdrop of water and distant buildings, is in my opinion a good fit for it; it’s a splash of bright color among the brown, gray and green we’re so used to seeing on campus. For Handel is as aesthetically pleasing as it is non symmetrical.

Student Opinions

Sometimes, interpretations of art pieces are best conveyed if guided by simple questions. We asked several students, “What do you think For Handel might be trying to represent or mean? What is its purpose? What kind of experience do you think the artist may have been trying to create for the audience? (Think about… materials used, color, lines/shapes and other aspects of the sculpture.) Can you make any interpretations of the piece?”

“I guess the piece has a boldness to it. Partly because of its bright red color and partly because it is such a large metal sculpture.” – Kami

“Represents man’s’ progress on the frontier. The tallest beam points out towards the bay. Imposing structure that catches your attention, especially as its positioned at the top of the hill, overlooking the bluff.” – Kai

We thought that expanding to the subject of campus sculptures in general would put For Handel in perspective, and give us better information about what students thought about For Handel specifically. So we also asked, “Why do you think the University has invested so much in bringing sculpture art to campus? Do you think the University has invested well? What would campus be like without its sculptures? What would it be like without For Handel?”

“Well I think it’s important for any university to have some recognition of artwork. Especially at an outdoor university and at a liberal arts university, it adds to the ambiance.” – Kami

Here is a photo of one of the students posing with For Handel after being interviewed.

Here is a photo of one of the students posing with For Handel after being interviewed.

If one knows the history behind For Handel, their interpretation of it may change. Here is Winston’s interpretation of For Handel.

For Handel is a great tripod of industrial metal beams that stands about three stories high and contrasts its surroundings with its glossy red paint. The three beams that extend up from the ground don’t join together symmetrically at the top, but instead the sculpture has various smaller extensions that continue beyond the central axis point of the three legs in seemingly random directions. The way the individual beams of metal are joined together it seems almost that each leg is intended to be a distinct entity, balancing against the other two distinct legs. Yet the structure as a whole appears to be very sturdy and securely anchored in the ground.

The courtyard in which the sculpture sits encourages interaction of passersby, as the walkway leads under the structure itself. Walking underneath and looking up the contrasting red with the sky makes the sculpture appear even more sizable and imposing. This is compounded by the physical feel of the cold thick steel that viewers are almost compelled to reach out and touch. In a courtyard of little color or particularly notable architecture, the sculpture contrasts its setting with its non-conforming angles, asymmetry and its bold color.

Lastly, we asked students to describe For Handel in one word. Some were more positive than others.

  • “Permanent” – Parker B.
  • “Grounded” – Riley M.
  • “Inconvenient or unnecessary” – Kami J.

So how does the sculpture fit into our campus environment? What does it contribute? How is our community engaging with it? Our sample of students had a variety of opinions of For Handel. Every student we talked to was aware of the big red sculpture that sits on the edge of the bluff overlooking Bellingham Bay, but none of them had really taken the time to think about its purpose. Most of the students expressed an appreciation for having art on campus in general, yet there seemed to be a surface engagement with sculpture art on campus in our student sample. Perhaps it’s not reasonable to expect that For Handel will catch the interest of every passerby, yet it seems a shame that the sculpture does not attract more audience interaction. It is, however, interesting to note that after learning more about the sculpture through the interviews, our student interviewees asked us additional questions and seemed to have greater curiosity about the sculpture than they started with. Through the making of this blog posting we were able to not only learn more about For Handel for our own sakes, but we were happy that we were also able to spark interest from other students. Antoni Muntadas got one thing right… perception does require involvement.

 

Sources

  • Baumgardner, Julie. “The Most Iconic Artists of the 1970s.” Artsy, 11 Aug. 2015, www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-the-most-iconic-artists-of-the-1970s
  • “Mark Di Suvero.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Jan. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_di_Suvero.
  • “React. Research. Execute!” React. Research. Execute!, 12 May 2017, wp.wwu.edu/wwuart109/2017/05/12/steel-image-for-handel-suvero/.
  • Skiba, Alise, et al. “React. Research. Execute!” React. Research. Execute!, Western Washington University, 19 May 2017, wp.wwu.edu/wwuart109/2017/05/19/for-handel-the-playground-sculpture/.
  • “University Public Art Collection.” Western Washington University.

Created by Niko Purcell and Winston Hallam-Eames