Sculptor Guy J. Bellaver Installs Kinetic Sculpture at Saint Vincent College

ST. CHARLES, Ill. - July 1, 2013 - PRLog -- Saint Charles, IL, June 30, 2013 – Saint Vincent College (http://www.stvincent.edu/) and sculptor Guy J. Bellaver (http://bellaverstudios.com/) began a conversation about a sculpture commission for the Herman and Sis Dupré Science Pavilion (http://www.stvincent.edu/Alumni_and_Friends/Giving_to_SVC/Giving_Opportunities/Science_Center/) as a result of Bellaver’s one-man retrospective exhibition at the College entitled - The Creative Thread – From Fibonacci to Fermi.  Says Bellaver, “I have always been fascinated by the relationship of positive to negative space and the energy of their interaction.  So I was very pleased to have been given the opportunity to develop a math/science themed sculpture for Saint Vincent – and I am equally pleased with the finished work.”

To achieve the College’s objectives to have a signature piece for the new Science Center that ties into the STEM disciplines (with particular emphasis on elements that suggest a Fibonacci Spiral), Mr. Bellaver created a sculpture entitled Fibonacci in Moto, one of a new series entitled “…in Motion”.  Fibonacci in Moto (translation from the Italian – Fibonacci in Motion) is a multi-hexagon-shaped sculpture, comprised of polished stainless steel rectangular tubing, inlaid with colored glass pieces.  The glass was fabricated by Don and Ellen Ljung of Donellen Designs (http://donellendesigns.com/).  Said Ellen Ljung, “Don and I were delighted to be given the opportunity to work on this sculpture.  We think the piece is absolutely beautiful.”  The glass pieces are designed, when the sculpture is still, to represent fibonacci spirals.  The interior hexagons will rotate on shafts within the tubing, but require manual manipulation to generate this rotation.

The sculpture is about light and motion, kinetic and potential energy, and the energy of color.  The colors of the glass pieces represent elements present in the college and the new Science Center. The blue represents the basic color of St. Vincent’s logo, the leaf green represents the center’s focus on the environment, and the orange speaks to the interior and exterior “building blocks” of brick, warm woods, and design.

The stainless steel rod forms six hexagons and each of the five interior “levels” of the stainless steel rod can be turned to form many other views, representing the growth of the college as exemplified by the new Science Center.  Each sculpture in the series represents the physics of potential and kinetic energy – energy possessed due to motion. The basic medium of the piece – stainless steel – exemplifies the strength of the Benedictine and the college communities.

Br. Nathan Cochran, O.S.B. of Saint Vincent College, Director of The Saint Vincent Gallery, and Curator of the Saint Vincent Art Collections was involved with the commission from the very beginning.  Prior to a recent dedication of the new Science Center, he said, “I’m hearing a lot of positive comments about the sculpture [and] I’m eager to hear additional positive reactions [after the dedication]!”

More information about Sculpture/Guy J. Bellaver and St. Vincent College may be found on their web sites – http://bellaverstudios.com/ and StVincent.edu (http://www.stvincent.edu/)

About Guy J. Bellaver and Sculpture:

Mr. Bellaver is a sculptor whose works span many media, including stone, wood, metal and mixed media.  His monumental works include major public art and liturgical projects in Geneva, Elgin, and St. Charles, IL, Latrobe, PA, and Boston, MA.   Mr. Bellaver’s sculptures appear in the Forest County Potawatomi Cultural Museum, Crandon, WI, Armstrong County, Kittanning, PA, Elgin Community College, Elgin, IL, Kane County Campbell House, Geneva, IL, Heritage Center, St. Charles, IL, Forbes Health System, Pittsburgh, PA, Graphite Sales, Inc., Chagrin Falls, OH, H.J. Heinz International Headquarters, Pittsburgh, PA, Hiram College, Hiram, OH, Indiana University of PA, Indiana, PA, Property Investment Company, Indianapolis, IN, and St. Vincent College, Latrobe, PA, among others.  His work is in private collections around the country.  Mr. Bellaver's entire portfolio may be seen on his web site - BellaverStudios.com.

After his discharge from the U.S. Army, Mr. Bellaver earned a B.A. in Economics from Saint Vincent College.  He has worked as a sculptor full time since 1975. Mr. Bellaver has taken masters credit classes in art at Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, and NIU, as well as The School of the Art Institute in Chicago.  He is a member of CSI and ISC and sits on the Boards of the St. Charles Visitors and Cultural Commission and the St. Charles Arts Council.  Mr. Bellaver is a past President of the St. Charles Rotary Club and Foundation and Chairman of the DSCP’s Public Art Committee.

Sculpture is a Registered and Verified Veteran Owned Small Business.

About Saint Vincent College:

Founded in 1846, Saint Vincent College is the first Benedictine college in the United States. Our community is grounded in the teachings of Saint Benedict, who in the sixth century established his rule, a way for people to live, learn and serve God as part of a community. More than 1,500 years later, members of the Saint Vincent community still live according to The Rule. The Saint Vincent experience integrates a broad liberal arts education with an emphasis on critical thinking skills, learning in community, spiritual development and service, preparing you not only for a successful career, but also for a meaningful life.