During moments after class, students stop and admire the steel behemoth perched between Western’s Viking Union and the Performing Arts Center.
“For Handel” was manufactured on campus by abstract expressionist sculptor Mark di Suvero in 1975.
Hafthor Yngvason, director of Western’s art gallery, said one reason he came to Western was because of its collection of sculptures that he said ranks in the top 10 best among universities in the country.
“[For Handel’s] an expressive work of art, whereas most of our steel sculptures are primarily minimalist,” Yngvason said.
Di Suvero’s masterpiece was named after German-English baroque composer George Frideric Handel, and its placement next to the music building was not a coincidence. Its abstract design, somewhat resembling a musical note, has invited Western students to climb on, sit atop, take pictures next to or simply admire its stoic, steely frame for nearly 50 years.
The gigantic bright red beams that seem to change shape at different angles exceeded even an experienced art director’s expectations the first time he saw it.
“It’s a towering sculpture and when you walk around it or through it, you get this feeling for the scale that you can’t get from a photograph,” Yngvason said. “I was amazed.”
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