November 6th, 2006
Contact: María E. McCabe
PRESS ADVISORY 610-388-9480, contact@veritascommunication.net

MAJOR SCULPTURE INSTALLATION AT NEW CASTLE COUNTY COURTHOUSE

Wilmington, DE – Artist Brower Hatcher’s “Beacon”, a towering, lighted sculpture with intricate strands of color soaring 51 feet into the air is ready for installation at the New Castle County Courthouse. The press is invited to speak with the artist and witness the most dramatic phase of the installation, as a crane lowers the monolith into place, during the afternoon of Tuesday, November 14th, from 2-5 pm. Brower Hatcher will oversee the placement of “Beacon” into the Courtyard Plaza.

Commissioned by the Art Committee for the New Castle County Courthouse, “Beacon” is a symbol of the light of justice, and represents the evolution of our legal code. Concentric shells and multi-colored geometric structures of stainless steel encase a tower of steel and glass. The concentric bands contain quotations from three important landmarks in human judicial history, the Exodus, the Code of Hammurabi and the legal writings of Confucius. “Beacon” represents both the solidity of our judicial system and its openness to the needs of future generations. In a first for the artist, Hatcher has also designed the surrounding seating and paving plan in the courtyard plaza.

Brower Hatcher with “Beacon” Hatcher says, “Beacon” is the concept of Law realized as a structure. The idea of laws is monolithic, transparent and historic. It has a historic source.”

The sculpture comes to Wilmington thanks to an unprecedented partnership between the legal community, dedicated volunteers and public and private supporters of the arts, and the Art Committee for the New Castle County Courthouse.

Brower Hatcher is well known for his spectacular pieces of public art, having created major pieces for many cities including Denver, Colorado, Minneapolis, Minnesota and “Starman in the Ancient Garden”, a Plaza and Canopy Design, for Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. Most recently he installed “Linear Accelerator” in the St. Louis Metro, a sculpture that showcases interactive lighting integrated into a matrix, which responds to commuter and train traffic.
Hatcher is based in Providence, Rhode Island. He is a three-time winner of a National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship and has won numerous other awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship and the Honeywell Environmental Excellence Award. Brower Hatcher has exhibited widely throughout the United States and England.

The Committee’s first major installation at the Courthouse was a significant mural entitled “The Artisan”, by artist Frank E. Schoonover, the “Dean of Delaware Artists”. A massive and imposing piece, measuring 24’ by 7’, “The Artisan” was created to inspire and educate the students and citizens of Delaware. It represents the crafts, trades and industry that were vital to the state in 1938 when DuPont Vice President and public benefactor H. Fletcher Brown commissioned the piece.

On November 10th, 2005, the Committee dedicated “Floating Forms” by Robert Goodnough, named by Time Magazine one of the 100 best artists in America. A visual feast of brilliant color “Floating Forms” consists of three large panels, fifteen by nine feet each of brightly colored metal shapes that are designed to project at varying distances from the wall.

“Beacon” Installation
Tuesday, November 14th, 2006
Courtyard Plaza, New Castle County Courthouse
500 North King Street, Wilmington, Delaware

For more information on artist Brower Hatcher: www.midoceanstudio.com

For more information on artist
Brower Hatcher: www.midoceanstudio.com

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