Branko Medenica: Difference between revisions
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'''Branko Medenica''' (born in Germany) is a sculptor and owner of [[Sculpture Sight]] at 417 [[25th Street South]] in [[Birmingham]]. | [[Image:Branko Medenica.jpg|right|thumb|Branko Medenica]] | ||
'''Branko Medenica''' (born [[July 17]], [[1950]] in Germany) is a [[List of sculptors|sculptor]] and owner of the [[Sculpture Sight]] studio at 417 [[25th Street South]] in [[Birmingham]]. | |||
Medenica left Germany with his parents when he was a year old. They lived in New York and Pittsburgh before moving to Huntsville, where his father worked for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. | Medenica left Germany with his parents when he was a year old. They lived in New York and Pittsburgh before moving to Huntsville, where his father worked for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Medenica graduated from Lee High School there, after which his family moved to Washington D.C. | ||
Medenica returned to Alabama to earn his undergraduate degree ([[1972]]) and a master's in business administration at [[Birmingham-Southern College]]. He | Medenica returned to Alabama to earn his undergraduate degree ([[1972]]) and a master's in business administration at [[Birmingham-Southern College]]. He read in a magazine that most people worked in jobs that they could barely tolerate, and he resolved not to fall into that trap, and returned to school to study art at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. He completed his master's in fine arts in [[1975]]. After graduating he toured small communities in five states over seven months on the Michigan Art Train. | ||
Back in Birmingham, Medenica applied for unemployment and told counselors that he was hoping for an "art job." As luck would have it, within a week [[Birmingham City Schools]] put in a request for a sculptor to create an outdoor work to commemorate the adoption of an "Arts in Education" curriculum at [[Lakeview School|Lakeview Elementary School]]. Medenica was commissioned to create the 15-foot-tall concrete and metal "[[Resurgence]]". | |||
Later that year, Medenica was offered work as a steel fabricator with the [[J. C. McGahan Company]], a manufacturer of pressure tank heads. When he was laid off in [[1983]] he opened his own studio, "Sculpture Sight". | |||
Medenica co-founded the [[Birmingham Arts Commission]] in [[1980]] and was gallery director for the [[Greater Birmingham Arts Alliance]] from [[1980]] to [[1981]]. He has served as a juror for fine arts at the [[Alabama State Fair]], as an artist-in-residence at [[UAB]], [[Birmingham City Schools]] and [[Mountain Brook High School]], and as a guest lecturer at Washington & Lee University. | Medenica co-founded the [[Birmingham Arts Commission]] in [[1980]] and was gallery director for the [[Greater Birmingham Arts Alliance]] from [[1980]] to [[1981]]. He has served as a juror for fine arts at the [[Alabama State Fair]], as an artist-in-residence at [[UAB]], [[Birmingham City Schools]] and [[Mountain Brook High School]], and as a guest lecturer at Washington & Lee University. | ||
==Works== | ==Works== | ||
* "[[Resurgence]]", [[Lakeview School]] 1976 | |||
* "[[Roly-Poly Man]]", [[Underwood Park]], 1976 | |||
* "[[Resurgence]]", [[Lakeview School]] | * "[[Orbit]]" [[Frank Connery residence]], 1977 | ||
* "[[Roly-Poly Man]]", [[Underwood Park]] | * "[[Porpoise]]", [[Birmingham]], 1978 | ||
* "[[Orbit]]" [[Frank Connery residence]] | * "[[Ribbon in Time]]", [[Wells Fargo Tower|SouthTrust Tower]], 1980 | ||
* "[[Porpoise]]", [[Birmingham]] | * "[[Elysian Gate]]", [[Ronald Goldberg residence]], 1981 | ||
* "[[Ribbon in Time]]", [[Wells Fargo Tower|SouthTrust Tower]] | * "The Chessman", Bluemont, Virginia, 1982 | ||
* "[[Elysian Gate]]", [[Ronald Goldberg residence]] | * "The Rainbow", Rainbow Industrial Park, Rainbow City, 1983 | ||
* "The Chessman", Bluemont, Virginia | * [[Vulcan (Hitachi)|Vulcan]] statue replica for [[Birmingham Sister City Commission|Birmingham's sister city]] [[Hitachi, Japan]], 1984 | ||
* "The Rainbow", Rainbow Industrial Park, | * "Duty Called", Alabama State Capitol, Montgomery, 1985 | ||
* [[Vulcan (Hitachi)|Vulcan]] statue replica for [[Birmingham Sister City Commission|Birmingham's sister city]] [[Hitachi, Japan]] | * "[[Minds in Balance]]", [[Mountain Brook High School]], 1986 | ||
* "Duty Called", Alabama State Capitol, Montgomery | * "[[Dual Destiny]]", [[Winston County Courthouse]], 1987 | ||
* "[[Minds in Balance]]", [[Mountain Brook High School]] | * "Spirit of Nursing", Auburn University Montgomery, 1988 | ||
* "[[Dual Destiny]]", [[Winston County Courthouse]] | * "[[Colonel Cullman]]", [[Cullman County Museum]], 1988 | ||
* "Spirit of Nursing", Auburn University Montgomery | * "[[Sky Dance]]", [[SportPlex]], [[Hoover]], 1990 | ||
* "[[Colonel Cullman]]", [[Cullman County Museum]] | * "[[Aspirations]]", [[UAB]] [[Bartow Arena]], 1991 | ||
* "[[Sky Dance]]", [[SportPlex]], [[Hoover]] | * "[[Centurion|Centurion: Jus Fides Libertatum]]", [[Mel Bailey Criminal Justice Center]] 1991 | ||
* "[[Aspirations]]", [[UAB]] | * "Old George", Washington Hall, Washington & Lee University 1992 | ||
* "[[Centurion|Centurion: Jus Fides Libertatum]]", [[Mel Bailey Criminal Justice Center]] | * [[Samuel Ullman statue]], [[Ullman Building]], [[UAB]] 1993 | ||
* "Old George", Washington Hall, Washington & Lee University | |||
* [[Samuel Ullman statue]], [[ | |||
* "[[Leprechaun Lane]]", [[Courtney's Restaurant]] | * "[[Leprechaun Lane]]", [[Courtney's Restaurant]] | ||
* Jesse Owens statue, Oakville, Lawrence County | * Jesse Owens statue, Oakville, Lawrence County, 1996 | ||
* "[[Yo-Yo Magic]]", [[Altamont School]] | * "[[Yo-Yo Magic]]", [[Altamont School]], 1998 | ||
* "[[Phase III]]", [[Phil Henle residence]] | * "[[Phase III]]", [[Phil Henle residence]], 1999 | ||
* "[[Wings of Triumph]]", [[Auburn University]] | * "[[Sacred Fire]]", Chattahoochee Indian Heritage Center, Fort Mitchell, 2002 | ||
* [[John Winston statue]], [[Old Houston Jail]], [[Winston County]] | * "Sacred Tears", Spring Park, Tuscumbia, 2003 | ||
* [[George Watson bust]], [[Jefferson County Bessemer Justice Center]], | * William Hooper Councill statue, [[Alabama A&M University]], Huntsville, 2004 | ||
* [[Charles Linn statue]], [[Linn Park]] | * "[[Triumph]]", [[Trinity Medical Center]], 2006 | ||
* "[[Wings of Triumph]]", [[Auburn University]], 2009 | |||
* [[John Winston statue]], [[Old Houston Jail]], [[Winston County]], 2009 | |||
* [[George Watson bust]], [[Jefferson County Bessemer Justice Center]], 2009 | |||
* "[[Horse Power]]", [[Barber Motorsports Park]], 2010 | |||
* [[Charles Linn statue]], [[Linn Park]], 2013 | |||
* "[[A Celebration of Reading]]", courthouse square, Monroeville, 2014 | |||
==Gallery== | |||
<gallery> | |||
File:Resurgence.jpg|"[[Resurgence]]", 1976 | |||
File:Vulcan in Hitachi.jpg|"[[Vulcan]]" in Hitachi, Japan, 1985 | |||
Image:Centurion.jpg|"[[Centurion]]", 1991 | |||
Image:Charles Linn statue.jpg|[[Charles Linn statue]], 2013 | |||
</gallery> | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
* Parson, Mary Jean (October 1989) "Accessible Art, Branko Medenica Wants to Create Art that All People Can See and Touch". ''Birmingham'' magazine | |||
* Parker, Melissa (January 29, 2009) "Casting an image: Sculptor Branko Medenica molds a career in Alabama." ''Our Prattville'' | * Parker, Melissa (January 29, 2009) "Casting an image: Sculptor Branko Medenica molds a career in Alabama." ''Our Prattville'' | ||
* Bryant, Joseph D. (January 23, 2012) "Statue coming in 2013 for Charles H. Linn, namesake of Birmingham's Linn Park." | * Bryant, Joseph D. (January 23, 2012) "Statue coming in 2013 for Charles H. Linn, namesake of Birmingham's Linn Park." {{BN}} | ||
* Rocker, Maggie & Sammie Auer (February 19, 2016) "Time capsule mystery from 1976 cracked in AL.com Vintage photos." {{BN}} | |||
==External links== | |||
* [http://brankoart.com/ Branko Medenica] website | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medenica, Branko}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Medenica, Branko}} | ||
[[Category:1950 births]] | |||
[[Category:Living people]] | [[Category:Living people]] | ||
[[Category:Birmingham-Southern alumni]] | [[Category:Birmingham-Southern alumni]] | ||
[[Category:Factory workers]] | |||
[[Category:Sculptors]] | [[Category:Sculptors]] | ||
[[Category:Branko Medenica works|*]] |
Latest revision as of 09:03, 3 February 2023
Branko Medenica (born July 17, 1950 in Germany) is a sculptor and owner of the Sculpture Sight studio at 417 25th Street South in Birmingham.
Medenica left Germany with his parents when he was a year old. They lived in New York and Pittsburgh before moving to Huntsville, where his father worked for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Medenica graduated from Lee High School there, after which his family moved to Washington D.C.
Medenica returned to Alabama to earn his undergraduate degree (1972) and a master's in business administration at Birmingham-Southern College. He read in a magazine that most people worked in jobs that they could barely tolerate, and he resolved not to fall into that trap, and returned to school to study art at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. He completed his master's in fine arts in 1975. After graduating he toured small communities in five states over seven months on the Michigan Art Train.
Back in Birmingham, Medenica applied for unemployment and told counselors that he was hoping for an "art job." As luck would have it, within a week Birmingham City Schools put in a request for a sculptor to create an outdoor work to commemorate the adoption of an "Arts in Education" curriculum at Lakeview Elementary School. Medenica was commissioned to create the 15-foot-tall concrete and metal "Resurgence".
Later that year, Medenica was offered work as a steel fabricator with the J. C. McGahan Company, a manufacturer of pressure tank heads. When he was laid off in 1983 he opened his own studio, "Sculpture Sight".
Medenica co-founded the Birmingham Arts Commission in 1980 and was gallery director for the Greater Birmingham Arts Alliance from 1980 to 1981. He has served as a juror for fine arts at the Alabama State Fair, as an artist-in-residence at UAB, Birmingham City Schools and Mountain Brook High School, and as a guest lecturer at Washington & Lee University.
Works
- "Resurgence", Lakeview School 1976
- "Roly-Poly Man", Underwood Park, 1976
- "Orbit" Frank Connery residence, 1977
- "Porpoise", Birmingham, 1978
- "Ribbon in Time", SouthTrust Tower, 1980
- "Elysian Gate", Ronald Goldberg residence, 1981
- "The Chessman", Bluemont, Virginia, 1982
- "The Rainbow", Rainbow Industrial Park, Rainbow City, 1983
- Vulcan statue replica for Birmingham's sister city Hitachi, Japan, 1984
- "Duty Called", Alabama State Capitol, Montgomery, 1985
- "Minds in Balance", Mountain Brook High School, 1986
- "Dual Destiny", Winston County Courthouse, 1987
- "Spirit of Nursing", Auburn University Montgomery, 1988
- "Colonel Cullman", Cullman County Museum, 1988
- "Sky Dance", SportPlex, Hoover, 1990
- "Aspirations", UAB Bartow Arena, 1991
- "Centurion: Jus Fides Libertatum", Mel Bailey Criminal Justice Center 1991
- "Old George", Washington Hall, Washington & Lee University 1992
- Samuel Ullman statue, Ullman Building, UAB 1993
- "Leprechaun Lane", Courtney's Restaurant
- Jesse Owens statue, Oakville, Lawrence County, 1996
- "Yo-Yo Magic", Altamont School, 1998
- "Phase III", Phil Henle residence, 1999
- "Sacred Fire", Chattahoochee Indian Heritage Center, Fort Mitchell, 2002
- "Sacred Tears", Spring Park, Tuscumbia, 2003
- William Hooper Councill statue, Alabama A&M University, Huntsville, 2004
- "Triumph", Trinity Medical Center, 2006
- "Wings of Triumph", Auburn University, 2009
- John Winston statue, Old Houston Jail, Winston County, 2009
- George Watson bust, Jefferson County Bessemer Justice Center, 2009
- "Horse Power", Barber Motorsports Park, 2010
- Charles Linn statue, Linn Park, 2013
- "A Celebration of Reading", courthouse square, Monroeville, 2014
Gallery
"Resurgence", 1976
"Vulcan" in Hitachi, Japan, 1985
"Centurion", 1991
Charles Linn statue, 2013
References
- Parson, Mary Jean (October 1989) "Accessible Art, Branko Medenica Wants to Create Art that All People Can See and Touch". Birmingham magazine
- Parker, Melissa (January 29, 2009) "Casting an image: Sculptor Branko Medenica molds a career in Alabama." Our Prattville
- Bryant, Joseph D. (January 23, 2012) "Statue coming in 2013 for Charles H. Linn, namesake of Birmingham's Linn Park." The Birmingham News
- Rocker, Maggie & Sammie Auer (February 19, 2016) "Time capsule mystery from 1976 cracked in AL.com Vintage photos." The Birmingham News
External links
- Branko Medenica website