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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. They moved away when he was transferred to the Goddard Space Flight Center in Washington D.C.
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 then completed a master's in fine arts at the University of Mississippi in Oxford in [[1975]]. After graduating he toured small communities in five states over seven months on the Michigan Art Train, then took a commission in Birmingham. He was soon offered work in a as a steel fabricator with the [[J. C. McGahan Company]]. When he was laid off in [[1983]] he opened his own studio.
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==
[[Image:Centurion.jpg|right|thumb|175px|[[Centurion]]]]
* "[[Resurgence]]", [[Lakeview School]] 1976
[[Image:Charles Linn statue sketch.jpg|right|thumb|[[Charles Linn statue]]]]
* "[[Roly-Poly Man]]", [[Underwood Park]], 1976
* "[[Resurgence]]", [[Lakeview School]] ([[1976]])
* "[[Orbit]]" [[Frank Connery residence]], 1977
* "[[Roly-Poly Man]]", [[Underwood Park]] ([[1976]])
* "[[Porpoise]]", [[Birmingham]], 1978
* "[[Orbit]]" [[Frank Connery residence]] ([[1977]])
* "[[Ribbon in Time]]", [[Wells Fargo Tower|SouthTrust Tower]], 1980
* "[[Porpoise]]", [[Birmingham]] ([[1978]])
* "[[Elysian Gate]]", [[Ronald Goldberg residence]], 1981
* "[[Ribbon in Time]]", [[Wells Fargo Tower|SouthTrust Tower]] ([[1980]])
* "The Chessman", Bluemont, Virginia, 1982
* "[[Elysian Gate]]", [[Ronald Goldberg residence]] ([[1981]])
* "The Rainbow", Rainbow Industrial Park, Rainbow City, 1983
* "The Chessman", Bluemont, Virginia ([[1982]])
* [[Vulcan (Hitachi)|Vulcan]] statue replica for [[Birmingham Sister City Commission|Birmingham's sister city]] [[Hitachi, Japan]], 1984
* "The Rainbow", Rainbow Industrial Park, Phenix City ([[1983]])
* "Duty Called", Alabama State Capitol, Montgomery, 1985
* [[Vulcan (Hitachi)|Vulcan]] statue replica for [[Birmingham Sister City Commission|Birmingham's sister city]] [[Hitachi, Japan]] ([[1984]])
* "[[Minds in Balance]]", [[Mountain Brook High School]], 1986
* "Duty Called", Alabama State Capitol, Montgomery ([[1985]])
* "[[Dual Destiny]]", [[Winston County Courthouse]], 1987
* "[[Minds in Balance]]", [[Mountain Brook High School]] ([[1986]])
* "Spirit of Nursing", Auburn University Montgomery, 1988
* "[[Dual Destiny]]", [[Winston County Courthouse]] ([[1987]])
* "[[Colonel Cullman]]", [[Cullman County Museum]], 1988
* "Spirit of Nursing", Auburn University Montgomery ([[1988]])
* "[[Sky Dance]]", [[SportPlex]], [[Hoover]], 1990
* "[[Colonel Cullman]]", [[Cullman County Museum]] ([[1988]])
* "[[Aspirations]]", [[UAB]] [[Bartow Arena]], 1991
* "[[Sky Dance]]", [[SportPlex]], [[Hoover]] ([[1990]])
* "[[Centurion|Centurion: Jus Fides Libertatum]]", [[Mel Bailey Criminal Justice Center]] 1991
* "[[Aspirations]]", [[UAB]] ([[1991]])
* "Old George", Washington Hall, Washington & Lee University 1992
* "[[Centurion|Centurion: Jus Fides Libertatum]]", [[Mel Bailey Criminal Justice Center]] ([[1991]])
* [[Samuel Ullman statue]], [[Ullman Building]], [[UAB]] 1993
* "Old George", Washington Hall, Washington & Lee University ([[1992]])
* [[Samuel Ullman statue]], [[Ullman School|Ullman Building]], [[UAB]] ([[1993]])
* "[[Leprechaun Lane]]", [[Courtney's Restaurant]]
* "[[Leprechaun Lane]]", [[Courtney's Restaurant]]
* Jesse Owens statue, Oakville, Lawrence County ([[1996]])
* Jesse Owens statue, Oakville, Lawrence County, 1996
* "[[Yo-Yo Magic]]", [[Altamont School]] ([[1998]])
* "[[Yo-Yo Magic]]", [[Altamont School]], 1998
* "[[Phase III]]", [[Phil Henle residence]] ([[1999]])
* "[[Phase III]]", [[Phil Henle residence]], 1999
* "Sacred Tears", Spring Park, Tuscumbia ([[2003]])
* "[[Sacred Fire]]", Chattahoochee Indian Heritage Center, Fort Mitchell, 2002
* William Hooper Councill statue, [[Alabama A&M University]], Huntsville ([[2004]])
* "Sacred Tears", Spring Park, Tuscumbia, 2003
* "[[Triumph]]", [[Trinity Medical Center]] ([[2006]])
* William Hooper Councill statue, [[Alabama A&M University]], Huntsville, 2004
* "[[Wings of Triumph]]", [[Auburn University]] ([[2009]])
* "[[Triumph]]", [[Trinity Medical Center]], 2006
* [[John Winston statue]], [[Old Houston Jail]], [[Winston County]] ([[2009]])
* "[[Wings of Triumph]]", [[Auburn University]], 2009
* [[George Watson bust]], [[Jefferson County Bessemer Justice Center]], ([[2009]])
* [[John Winston statue]], [[Old Houston Jail]], [[Winston County]], 2009
* [[Charles Linn statue]], [[Linn Park]] ([[2013]])
* [[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
* 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." ''Birmingham News''
* 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

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

Gallery

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

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