"Symphony in Three Forms"

Title: "Symphony in Three Forms"

Sculptor: Don Finegan, UNI Associate Art Professor

Location: Outside the main doors of Russell Hall

Date of Installation: 1960

Cost: $3,000

Larger Associated Project: Russell Hall

Description: Finegan attempted to capture the movement and vitality of music in form when he created "Symphony in Three Forms." The sculpture consists of three figures of abstract twisted metal on cement bases. Fiberglass was sprayed on thin strips of bronze and then molded. The three figures represent the three themes of a musical composition. The left figure sets the symphony theme. The figure on the right represents theme development, and the tall center figure represents the climax of the symphony. The figures were set apart from the building because Finegan wanted people to be able to walk around the figures and relate to the sculpture from different angles.

Finegan with his sculpture before it was installed.

Critical Reaction: The response varied; however, most students at the time of its creation and placement gave favorable opinions of the sculpture.

Other: "Symphony in Three Forms," which took two years to finish, was created to the sounds of Beethoven's String Quartet and Bela Bartok's compositions. This particular sculpture was the first artwork created in conjunction with a building project. In the following years, artwork was commissioned for most newly-constructed buildings.

"Symphony in Three Forms" in 1990.

Compiled by Sarah Eaton; edited by Susan Basye
Special Collections and University Archives
February 1998