John Safer
Encyclopedia
John Safer is an American
sculptor. Safer's varied career spans work in theater lighting
, television, real estate
, politics and banking.
Safer is best known for his monumental sculptures, but he has also created many smaller works. These include award sculptures for organizations such as the National Air and Space Museum
, the PGA Tour, the Georgetown University Lombardi Cancer Center
, the World Peace Foundation, and the Shakespeare Guild.
Safer's works stand in museums, galleries and embassies throughout the world. In 1972 and in 1989 the U.S. Department of State
sent a group of Safer sculptures abroad to be exhibited as examples of America's finest art.
and stainless steel
. The pieces became larger and in 1979 his first public commission, Judgment, a multi-ton patinated bronze
, was installed at Harvard Law School
in Cambridge,Massachusetts
.
This was the first in a long string of public installations.
As the commissions
grew in number they grew in size as well. Interplay, created in 1987, is 18 feet (5.5 m) high. Leading Edge, created in 1989, is 20 feet (6.1 m) high. His hallmark work, Ascent, which stands at the entrance of the Smithsonian Institution's
Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport in Virginia
, is 75 feet (22.9 m) high.
"Through his work, John has tried to capture the essence … and reduce the subject to the pure line in space that Aristotle
believed to be the basis of sculpture."http://www.johnsafer.com/library/porsuits.html
, the only child of John and Rebecca Safer. His father, who operated a moving and storage business, was a lawyer
who graduated from Georgetown University Law School at the head of his class. His mother Rebecca was a social activist, suffragette
and intellectual. John learned to read and write by the age of four. At this time his mother entered him into first grade at the Maret French School
.
Safer continued as a precocious student. Fluent in French
, he entered high school at the age of eleven and graduated when he was fourteen. He was pressured by his mother to enroll at Harvard University
. Safer, uncomfortable at the thought of being a fourteen year old college student, deliberately failed the Harvard entrance exam by handing in blank pages. http://www.johnsafer.com/library/porsuits.html
Safer instead attended Woodward Prep School. There he discovered his love for and ability in athletics
. This theme would greatly influence his art and his life. Until then, his age and size had prevented him from participating in sports and left him with the sense that he was a misfit.
At the age of sixteen, Safer entered George Washington University
where he majored in economics
. He became an assistant to Professor Edward Acheson –– brother of the United States Secretary of State
Dean Acheson
–– who became a mentor. At the beginning of World War II
, Safer enlisted in the United States Air Force
to become a flying cadet.
Safer became a first lieutenant
and served in India
, Burma and China
. When the war ended in 1945 he opted for an additional year in the Air Force hoping to fulfill a dream of seeing Europe
's great works of art while he was stationed there. His new assignment allowed him to visit the Parthenon
, the Tate
, and the Louvre
. While in Rome
, he learned that he was suddenly to be transferred to Athens
. Unwilling to leave Italy
without visiting the Accademia
in Florence
, Safer "borrowed" a jeep to make the drive to see Michelangelo
's David
. The Accademia was closed but he convinced the caretaker to let him in. The two hours Safer spent alone with the masterpiece resulted in a seminal experience, but it was Michelangelo's other sculptures in the Gallery, The Prisoners, which gave Safer an insight that was to impact his entire life and transform his artistic career.
The Prisoners are heroic figures rising from rough hewn stone. The upper portion of the figures are finished while the lower part remains uncarved. As Safer studied The Prisoners he realized the power of the abstract –– a realization that gave direction to his future work.
in 1949 his fascination with the emerging technology and promise of television prompted him to take a job as a handyman
at WXEL in Cleveland, Ohio
. He quickly rose to the position of program director
. During this time his innovations led the new independent station to "beat the ratings of all the network affiliates."http://www.johnsafer.com/library/dossier.html
In 1953 Safer's father became terminally ill and he returned to Washington, D.C. to take over his father's affairs. Although Safer successfully parlayed these into a major real estate
development business he did not find his commercial life a rewarding one.
In 1974 Safer entered the world of banking, becoming Chairman of the Executive Committee of Financial General Bankshares, and in 1981 the Chairman of the Board of DC National Bank which later became part of Bank of America
.
In 1999 Safer became Chairman of the Board of Materia, Inc. Materia specializes in Olefin metathesis
, and is noted for its Nobel Prize winning Green chemistry
.
. In 1969 Safer had his first show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
at the Michael Berger Gallery. Several shows in private galleries followed with a major exhibition at the Pyramid Gallery in Washington, D.C.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/145551122.html?dids=145551122:145551122&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&fmac=&date=Nov+29%2C+1970&author=By+Paul+Richard&desc=John+Safer%27s+Way+With+Light
In 1971 the renowned art collector and U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain
, Walter Annenberg
, invited Safer to have an exhibition at the American Embassy in London
.
In 1972 President Gerald Ford
presented Safer's Limits of Infinity to King Juan Carlos of Spain as a gift of state. This in turn led to several major events in Safer's sculptural career. As a result of a news report of President Ford's gift, the Dean
of Harvard Law School sought to acquire a Safer sculpture for the school. This culminated in 1979 with the installation of Judgment, a monumental bronze work which was presented to Harvard Law School as a gift of Safer's class of 1949. This was Safer's first monumental public work.
John McArthur
, the Dean of Harvard Business School
visited the palace at Zarzuela where King Juan Carlos had installed Limits of Infinity. Moved by the sculpture, Dean McArthur returned to America and commissioned Safer's 20 feet (6.1 m) Search for Harvard Business School. The patinated bronze was installed on the Business School grounds in 1984 adjacent to the spot where Safer's daughter, Janine, received her MBA five days later.
In 1985 Safer was invited to exhibit sculpture in the Pioneers of Flight Hall at the Smithsonian Institution's
National Air and Space Museum
, in Washington, D.C. He has the distinction of being the only artist to have ever had an exhibition in the central gallery of the most visited museum in the
world.http://books.google.com/books?id=O3hQAAAAMAAJ&q=john+safer++harvard+judgment&dq=john+safer++harvard+judgment&ei=79qNSOvcM4LKigGxn8DVCA&pgis=1
In 1989 the U.S. Department of State again sent Safer sculptures to Europe. As of 2008, the Department has exhibited Safer sculpture in London
, Paris
, Beijing
, Dublin, Bern, Lisbon
, Brussels
, Bucharest
, Belgrade
, Nassau
, Washington, and New Deli. Both public and private exhibitions of Safer sculpture can be seen in venues throughout the world.
Safer continues to create sculpture. He works with his stepdaughter Kathryn Scott, to whom he taught his trade and offered his mantle. In 2007, they began work on a monumental sculpture, Quest, for the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute. The 35 feet (10.7 m) stainless steel fabricated sculpture and state-of-the-art Smith Building research center was dedicated two years later, on October 16, 2009, 80 years to the day after the pioneering institute’s first building made its debut. Safer, a patient, donated the multi-ton sculpture as a gift of appreciation. It is one of the largest gifts of art that Johns Hopkins has received.
Safer explains the motivation behind his sculpture:
ephemeral."http://www.johnsafer.com/library/harvard.html
"I read once that Mozart could conceptualize a whole symphony
in an instantaneous flash. Then he would have the laborious task of committing it to paper. This struck a chord
, Mozartian I hope, in me. That's the way I create most of my sculpture. I get a kind of instantaneous flash, a look, a total concept, and then I have to give
it substance, make it occupy space."http://www.johnsafer.com/library/harvard.html
Safer credits his wife, Joy, with giving him "a new perspective on the world … which lifted my sculpture to a level I had not previously attained."
As a youngster, Safer was ahead of, and therefore smaller than his classmates in school, so it was later that he discovered his own athletic prowess. Safer has awards in marksman
ship, baseball
and bowling
and still plays competitive golf
. Safer and his team are tied for Second Place Low Gross, after the first round of golf in the 2010 Lyford Cay Four-Ball Invitational Tournament, a tournament they won in 2007 when Safer was 85.
from Daniel Webster College
and Doctor of Literature from Lees-McRae College
. In May 2009, Safer received a third honorary degree– Doctor of Fine Arts
from George Washington University
. Along with Rahm Emanuel
and Jeanne L. Narum, Safer delivered a commencement speech, from the National Mall
, to the graduating class of 2009.
Safer explains the motivation behind his career:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sculptor. Safer's varied career spans work in theater lighting
Stage lighting
Modern stage lighting is a flexible tool in the production of theatre, dance, opera and other performance arts. Several different types of stage lighting instruments are used in the pursuit of the various principles or goals of lighting. Stage lighting has grown considerably in recent years...
, television, real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
, politics and banking.
Safer is best known for his monumental sculptures, but he has also created many smaller works. These include award sculptures for organizations such as the National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
, the PGA Tour, the Georgetown University Lombardi Cancer Center
Georgetown University Medical Center
Georgetown University Medical Center is the medical campus at Georgetown University. It is also a $225 million biomedical research and educational organization. The Medical Center contains over 80% of Georgetown University's sponsored research funding and is led by Howard J...
, the World Peace Foundation, and the Shakespeare Guild.
Safer's works stand in museums, galleries and embassies throughout the world. In 1972 and in 1989 the U.S. Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
sent a group of Safer sculptures abroad to be exhibited as examples of America's finest art.
Sculpture
Safer's earliest sculptures in the 1950s and 1960s were small works of Lucite. Over time he also began to work in bronzeBronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
and stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
. The pieces became larger and in 1979 his first public commission, Judgment, a multi-ton patinated bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
, was installed at Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in Cambridge,Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
.
This was the first in a long string of public installations.
As the commissions
Commission (remuneration)
The payment of commission as remuneration for services rendered or products sold is a common way to reward sales people. Payments often will be calculated on the basis of a percentage of the goods sold...
grew in number they grew in size as well. Interplay, created in 1987, is 18 feet (5.5 m) high. Leading Edge, created in 1989, is 20 feet (6.1 m) high. His hallmark work, Ascent, which stands at the entrance of the Smithsonian Institution's
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, is 75 feet (22.9 m) high.
"Through his work, John has tried to capture the essence … and reduce the subject to the pure line in space that Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
believed to be the basis of sculpture."http://www.johnsafer.com/library/porsuits.html
Early life
John Safer was born and raised in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, the only child of John and Rebecca Safer. His father, who operated a moving and storage business, was a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
who graduated from Georgetown University Law School at the head of his class. His mother Rebecca was a social activist, suffragette
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
and intellectual. John learned to read and write by the age of four. At this time his mother entered him into first grade at the Maret French School
Maret School
Maret School was founded by Marthe Maret in 1911 as a French primary school. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, three French sisters, Mlles Marthe, Louise, and Jeanne Maret, left their home in Geneva, Switzerland to teach. Louise taught in Russia, Jeanne in the Philippines, and Marthe, who...
.
Safer continued as a precocious student. Fluent in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, he entered high school at the age of eleven and graduated when he was fourteen. He was pressured by his mother to enroll at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Safer, uncomfortable at the thought of being a fourteen year old college student, deliberately failed the Harvard entrance exam by handing in blank pages. http://www.johnsafer.com/library/porsuits.html
Safer instead attended Woodward Prep School. There he discovered his love for and ability in athletics
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
. This theme would greatly influence his art and his life. Until then, his age and size had prevented him from participating in sports and left him with the sense that he was a misfit.
At the age of sixteen, Safer entered George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
where he majored in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. He became an assistant to Professor Edward Acheson –– brother of the United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Dean Acheson
Dean Acheson
Dean Gooderham Acheson was an American statesman and lawyer. As United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953, he played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War...
–– who became a mentor. At the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Safer enlisted in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
to become a flying cadet.
Safer became a first lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
and served in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Burma and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. When the war ended in 1945 he opted for an additional year in the Air Force hoping to fulfill a dream of seeing Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
's great works of art while he was stationed there. His new assignment allowed him to visit the Parthenon
Parthenon
The Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their virgin patron. Its construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although...
, the Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
, and the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
. While in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, he learned that he was suddenly to be transferred to Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. Unwilling to leave Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
without visiting the Accademia
Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze
The Accademia di Belle Arti is an art academy in Florence, Italy and it is now the operative branch of the still existing Accademia delle Arti del Disegno that was the first academy of drawing in Europe.-History:The Accademia delle Arti del Disegno The Accademia di Belle Arti ("Academy of Fine...
in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Safer "borrowed" a jeep to make the drive to see Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
's David
David (Michelangelo)
David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504, by the Italian artist Michelangelo. It is a marble statue of a standing male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a favoured subject in the art of Florence...
. The Accademia was closed but he convinced the caretaker to let him in. The two hours Safer spent alone with the masterpiece resulted in a seminal experience, but it was Michelangelo's other sculptures in the Gallery, The Prisoners, which gave Safer an insight that was to impact his entire life and transform his artistic career.
The Prisoners are heroic figures rising from rough hewn stone. The upper portion of the figures are finished while the lower part remains uncarved. As Safer studied The Prisoners he realized the power of the abstract –– a realization that gave direction to his future work.
Businessman
After Safer graduated from Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1949 his fascination with the emerging technology and promise of television prompted him to take a job as a handyman
Handyman
A handyman is a person skilled at a wide range of repairs, typically around the home. These tasks include trade skills, repair work, maintenance work, both interior and exterior, and are sometimes described as "odd jobs", "fix-up tasks", and include light plumbing jobs such as fixing a leaky toilet...
at WXEL in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. He quickly rose to the position of program director
Program director
In service industries, such as education, a program director or programme director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services...
. During this time his innovations led the new independent station to "beat the ratings of all the network affiliates."http://www.johnsafer.com/library/dossier.html
In 1953 Safer's father became terminally ill and he returned to Washington, D.C. to take over his father's affairs. Although Safer successfully parlayed these into a major real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
development business he did not find his commercial life a rewarding one.
In 1974 Safer entered the world of banking, becoming Chairman of the Executive Committee of Financial General Bankshares, and in 1981 the Chairman of the Board of DC National Bank which later became part of Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
.
In 1999 Safer became Chairman of the Board of Materia, Inc. Materia specializes in Olefin metathesis
Olefin metathesis
Olefin metathesis or transalkylidenation is an organic reaction that entails redistribution of alkylene fragments by the scission of carbon - carbon double bonds in olefins . Its advantages include the creation of fewer sideproducts and hazardous wastes. Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs, and Richard R...
, and is noted for its Nobel Prize winning Green chemistry
Green chemistry
Green chemistry, also called sustainable chemistry, is a philosophy of chemical research and engineering that encourages the design of products and processes that minimize the use and generation of hazardous substances...
.
Sculptor
Safer never formally studied art. His first forays into sculpture were experiments with plastic swizzle sticks. In 1957 he made his first creations, and he continued to experiment, eventually beginning to carve LuciteAcrylic glass
Poly is a transparent thermoplastic, often used as a light or shatter-resistant alternative to glass. It is sometimes called acrylic glass. Chemically, it is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate...
. In 1969 Safer had his first show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
at the Michael Berger Gallery. Several shows in private galleries followed with a major exhibition at the Pyramid Gallery in Washington, D.C.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/145551122.html?dids=145551122:145551122&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&fmac=&date=Nov+29%2C+1970&author=By+Paul+Richard&desc=John+Safer%27s+Way+With+Light
In 1971 the renowned art collector and U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Walter Annenberg
Walter Annenberg
Walter Hubert Annenberg was an American publisher, philanthropist, and diplomat.-Early life:Walter Annenberg was born to a Jewish family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on March 13, 1908. He was the son of Sarah and Moses "Moe" Annenberg, who published The Daily Racing Form and purchased The Philadelphia...
, invited Safer to have an exhibition at the American Embassy in London
Embassy of the United States in London
The Embassy of the United States of America to the Court of St. James's has been located since 1960 in the American Embassy London Chancery Building, in Grosvenor Square, Westminster, London...
.
In 1972 President Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
presented Safer's Limits of Infinity to King Juan Carlos of Spain as a gift of state. This in turn led to several major events in Safer's sculptural career. As a result of a news report of President Ford's gift, the Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of Harvard Law School sought to acquire a Safer sculpture for the school. This culminated in 1979 with the installation of Judgment, a monumental bronze work which was presented to Harvard Law School as a gift of Safer's class of 1949. This was Safer's first monumental public work.
John McArthur
John H. McArthur
John H. McArthur was the seventh dean of the Harvard Business School. He served from 1980 through 1995. After that time he became the George F. Baker Professor of Business Administration Emeritus and Dean Emeritus. During his tenure, the Business School fundamentally redesigned its programs and...
, the Dean of Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
visited the palace at Zarzuela where King Juan Carlos had installed Limits of Infinity. Moved by the sculpture, Dean McArthur returned to America and commissioned Safer's 20 feet (6.1 m) Search for Harvard Business School. The patinated bronze was installed on the Business School grounds in 1984 adjacent to the spot where Safer's daughter, Janine, received her MBA five days later.
In 1985 Safer was invited to exhibit sculpture in the Pioneers of Flight Hall at the Smithsonian Institution's
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
, in Washington, D.C. He has the distinction of being the only artist to have ever had an exhibition in the central gallery of the most visited museum in the
world.http://books.google.com/books?id=O3hQAAAAMAAJ&q=john+safer++harvard+judgment&dq=john+safer++harvard+judgment&ei=79qNSOvcM4LKigGxn8DVCA&pgis=1
In 1989 the U.S. Department of State again sent Safer sculptures to Europe. As of 2008, the Department has exhibited Safer sculpture in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, Dublin, Bern, Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Nassau
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
, Washington, and New Deli. Both public and private exhibitions of Safer sculpture can be seen in venues throughout the world.
Safer continues to create sculpture. He works with his stepdaughter Kathryn Scott, to whom he taught his trade and offered his mantle. In 2007, they began work on a monumental sculpture, Quest, for the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute. The 35 feet (10.7 m) stainless steel fabricated sculpture and state-of-the-art Smith Building research center was dedicated two years later, on October 16, 2009, 80 years to the day after the pioneering institute’s first building made its debut. Safer, a patient, donated the multi-ton sculpture as a gift of appreciation. It is one of the largest gifts of art that Johns Hopkins has received.
Safer explains the motivation behind his sculpture:
- "At its best, sculpture can give a glimpse of the relationship between that which lies within us and that which does not. I strive to make works that will elevate the human spirit. What I see and try to capture is the movement of beauty. I try to freeze a line of motion that expresses strength, power, or grace. I try to grasp and make permanent something that is
ephemeral."http://www.johnsafer.com/library/harvard.html
- "What I aspire to, as an artist, is contained in the philosophyPhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
of the Golden Age of GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
: Truth is beauty; nothing in excess; know thyself. The essential thought behind the creation of my Sculpture is humanity. My goal is to increase the awareness of the beauty of life for myself and for others."
"I read once that Mozart could conceptualize a whole symphony
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
in an instantaneous flash. Then he would have the laborious task of committing it to paper. This struck a chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
, Mozartian I hope, in me. That's the way I create most of my sculpture. I get a kind of instantaneous flash, a look, a total concept, and then I have to give
it substance, make it occupy space."http://www.johnsafer.com/library/harvard.html
Safer credits his wife, Joy, with giving him "a new perspective on the world … which lifted my sculpture to a level I had not previously attained."
Civic
| Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and... |
Board of Directors |
|---|---|
| The Scripps Research Institute The Scripps Research Institute The Scripps Research Institute is an American medical research facility that focuses on research in the basic biomedical sciences. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, with a sister facility in Jupiter, Florida, the institute is home to 3,000 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and... |
Board of Directors |
| The Shakespeare Guild | Board of Directors |
| Washington Gallery of Modern Art Washington Gallery of Modern Art The Washington Gallery of Modern Art was a short-lived gallery promoting contemporary art near Dupont Circle in Washington, DC, USA, during the 1960s. Its collection of 153 works was purchased by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art in 1968 for $110,000... |
Founder and Director |
| Washington Tennis Center | Founder |
| Eugene Eugene Meyer Eugene Isaac Meyer was an American financier, public official, publisher of the Washington Post newspaper. He served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1930 to 1933. He was the father of publisher Katharine Graham.-Biography:Born in Los Angeles, California, he was one of eight children of... and Agnes Meyer Foundation |
Treasurer |
| U.S. Department of State | Inspector |
| Eugene McCarthy Eugene McCarthy Eugene Joseph "Gene" McCarthy was an American politician, poet, and a long-time member of the United States Congress from Minnesota. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1971.In the 1968 presidential election, McCarthy was the first... for President President of the United States The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.... |
National Campaign Director |
Sports
Safer’s interest in sports has provided the inspiration behind many of his sculptures. Dancer and the Dance, Serve, Before the Wind, and Line of Flight are works that capture a line of athletic motion.As a youngster, Safer was ahead of, and therefore smaller than his classmates in school, so it was later that he discovered his own athletic prowess. Safer has awards in marksman
Marksman
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...
ship, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
and still plays competitive golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
. Safer and his team are tied for Second Place Low Gross, after the first round of golf in the 2010 Lyford Cay Four-Ball Invitational Tournament, a tournament they won in 2007 when Safer was 85.
Honours
Safer has been awarded two honorary degrees: Doctor of PhilosophyDoctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
from Daniel Webster College
Daniel Webster College
Daniel Webster College is a for-profit proprietary college in Nashua, New Hampshire with a professions focus.-History:The college was established in 1965 as the New England Aeronautical Institute and was associated with Boire Field...
and Doctor of Literature from Lees-McRae College
Lees-McRae College
Lees-McRae College is a private four-year college in Banner Elk, North Carolina affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . Lees-McRae College has the highest elevation of any college or university in the United States east of the Mississippi River at above sea level. It is one of the few colleges...
. In May 2009, Safer received a third honorary degree– Doctor of Fine Arts
Doctor of Fine Arts
Doctor of Fine Arts is doctoral degree in fine arts, typically given as an honorary degree . The degree is typically conferred to honor the recipient who has made a contribution to society in the arts...
from George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
. Along with Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel is an American politician and the 55th and current Mayor of Chicago. He was formerly White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama...
and Jeanne L. Narum, Safer delivered a commencement speech, from the National Mall
National Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
, to the graduating class of 2009.
Safer explains the motivation behind his career:
- "There is one other basic principle that guides my work, my business career, and my life in general, and that is balance. I believe that the AristotelianAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
golden meanGolden mean (philosophy)In philosophy, especially that of Aristotle, the golden mean is the desirable middle between two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency. For example courage, a virtue, if taken to excess would manifest as recklessness and if deficient as cowardice....
is as good a guiding philosophyPhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
for life as you can find. In business, I adhere to it continually, trying to balance the necessity for a successful business always to move forward with the caveat that too much motion can be counterproductive or unnecessarily dangerous. In art, the human spirit is gratified by balance, by a tonic note. And so I try to express a sense of balance and completeness in my work."
External links
- John Safer
- A Who'sWho in America Publication
- Materia
- National Air and Space Museum Trophy
- 1989 Peacemaker/Peacebuilder Award designed by John Safer
- Who'sWho in American Art - Artists' Gallery, John Safer
- Guiness Book of World Records, a record for the World's largest Clock called Timepiece designed by John Safer