The Calling (di Suvero)
Encyclopedia
The Calling is a public artwork by American
artist Mark di Suvero
located in O'Donnell Park, which is on the lakefront in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, United States
. The artwork was made in 1981-82 from steel
I-beam
s painted an orange-red color. It measures 40 feet in height, and it sits at the end of Wisconsin Avenue in front of the footbridge that leads to the Milwaukee Art Museum
.
building and in front of the Milwaukee Art Museum. When the piece was first commissioned, the Milwaukee Art Museum did not extend to its present location. The sculpture's backdrop consisted of the bluff and Lake Michigan
. With the rising sun behind it, The Calling truly captured di Suvero's intent.
Since its proposal, The Calling has been fraught with controversy. Community members and politicians have had a problem with the cost, the use of industrial materials, the abstract design, the placement, and the donor's anonymity. Local politicians delayed the building of the sculpture while they debated the sculpture's design, even though the museum owned it. "Gerald Norland, Director of the Art Museum, led the fight for approval throughout most of 1981, presenting its case to eleven separate hearings. Finally, the museum received a favorable vote in the Common Council in January, 1982." Di Suvero proceeded to create the sculpture in his New York
studio. Once it was complete, he disassembled The Calling, shipped it to Milwaukee, and directed the reassembly of the piece. It was dedicated in April 1982.
A new controversy arose when the Milwaukee Art Museum's Santiago Calatrava
-designed new wing opened in 2001. Dissenters advocated that The Calling be moved as it blocked their view of the new art museum. Di Suvero refused to move the sculpture, stating "If you don't want it, take it apart and ship it to me." When questioned whether the sculpture should be moved, Calatrava deferred to di Suvero.The sculpture and its placement continue to be a point of contention between art critics and community members alike.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist Mark di Suvero
Mark di Suvero
Marco Polo "Mark" di Suvero is an American abstract expressionist sculptor born Marco Polo Levi in Shanghai, China in 1933 to Italian expatriates. He immigrated to San Francisco, California in 1942 with his family. From 1953 to 1957, he attended the University of California, Berkeley to study...
located in O'Donnell Park, which is on the lakefront in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The artwork was made in 1981-82 from steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
I-beam
I-beam
-beams, also known as H-beams, W-beams , rolled steel joist , or double-T are beams with an - or H-shaped cross-section. The horizontal elements of the "" are flanges, while the vertical element is the web...
s painted an orange-red color. It measures 40 feet in height, and it sits at the end of Wisconsin Avenue in front of the footbridge that leads to the Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee Art Museum
The Milwaukee Art Museum is located on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Beginning around 1872, multiple organizations were founded in order to bring an art gallery to Milwaukee, as the city was still a growing port town with little or no facilities to hold major art exhibitions...
.
Description
Mark di Suvero's impressive artwork was commissioned by an anonymous donor. It stands tall at 40 feet and is made from steel I-beams, which the artist painted an orange-red color. The sculpture resembles a rising sun, and is colloquially called the Sunburst. It currently sits in O'Donnell Park, next to the Milwaukee County War MemorialMilwaukee County War Memorial
The Milwaukee County War Memorial is a memorial building located on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, WI. It was designed by architect Eero Saarinen. Construction began in 1955 and the building was dedicated on Veterans Day in 1957. The mosaic mural by Edmund D. Lewandowski was installed in 1959.-...
building and in front of the Milwaukee Art Museum. When the piece was first commissioned, the Milwaukee Art Museum did not extend to its present location. The sculpture's backdrop consisted of the bluff and Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
. With the rising sun behind it, The Calling truly captured di Suvero's intent.
Information
Milwaukee's downtown lakefront had been a transportation hub since the 19th century. In 1968 the lakefront's railroad passenger depot was torn down. The site was developed into a parking lot and an urban park. In 1980 the Milwaukee Department of City Development decided to place a sculpture in this new urban park, and asked the Milwaukee Art Museum to select an artist to make the piece. The Milwaukee Art Museum chose Mark di Suvero, while an anonymous donor offered to fund the sculpture. Di Suvero's design for The Calling dated back to 1975 when he did some drawings for Emily and Joseph Pulitzer, Jr. The sculpture was never built, but when the artist came to Milwaukee and visited the proposed site for his work, he knew that the strong verticals of The Calling were needed to complement the scale of the bluff and the lake.Since its proposal, The Calling has been fraught with controversy. Community members and politicians have had a problem with the cost, the use of industrial materials, the abstract design, the placement, and the donor's anonymity. Local politicians delayed the building of the sculpture while they debated the sculpture's design, even though the museum owned it. "Gerald Norland, Director of the Art Museum, led the fight for approval throughout most of 1981, presenting its case to eleven separate hearings. Finally, the museum received a favorable vote in the Common Council in January, 1982." Di Suvero proceeded to create the sculpture in his New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
studio. Once it was complete, he disassembled The Calling, shipped it to Milwaukee, and directed the reassembly of the piece. It was dedicated in April 1982.
A new controversy arose when the Milwaukee Art Museum's Santiago Calatrava
Santiago Calatrava
Santiago Calatrava Valls is a Spanish architect, sculptor and structural engineer whose principal office is in Zürich, Switzerland. Classed now among the elite designers of the world, he has offices in Zürich, Paris, Valencia, and New York City....
-designed new wing opened in 2001. Dissenters advocated that The Calling be moved as it blocked their view of the new art museum. Di Suvero refused to move the sculpture, stating "If you don't want it, take it apart and ship it to me." When questioned whether the sculpture should be moved, Calatrava deferred to di Suvero.The sculpture and its placement continue to be a point of contention between art critics and community members alike.
External links
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, Clement MeadmoreClement MeadmoreClement Meadmore was an Australian-American sculptor known for massive outdoor steel sculptures.-Biography:...
, Charles GinneverCharles GinneverCharles Ginnever is an American sculptor. He was born in San Mateo, California, in 1931. In 1957, he received his BA from the San Francisco Art Institute and received his MFA from Cornell University in 1959. He started working with canvas and steel scraps painted with bright patterns...
, Lyman KippLyman KippLyman Kipp is a sculptor and painter who creates pieces that are composed of strong vertical and horizontal objects and are often painted in bold primary colors recalling arrangements by De Stijl Constructivists...
, Kenneth SnelsonKenneth SnelsonKenneth Snelson is a contemporary sculptor and photographer. His sculptural works are composed of flexible and rigid components arranged according to the idea of 'tensegrity', although Snelson does not use the term.... - SnowplowSnowplow (sculpture)Snowplow is an abstract outdoor sculpture by American artist Mark di Suvero located on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.-Description:...
, 1968, Indianapolis Museum of ArtIndianapolis Museum of ArtThe Indianapolis Museum of Art is an encyclopedic art museum located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The museum, which underwent a $74 million expansion in 2005, is located on a campus on the near northwest area outside downtown Indianapolis, northwest of Crown Hill Cemetery.The...
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- For F.B. Yeats, 1987, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas
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- Clock Knot, 2008, University of Texas, Austin