Sculptor Mark di Suvero is among the 10 honorees being presented with a 2010 National Medal of Arts by President Obama. The ceremony will stream live on www.WhiteHouse.gov/Live today at 1:45 pm. It will also include the awarding of the National Medal of Humanities.
Di Suvero, best known for his muscular, monumental abstract sculptures, is being commended for his works that “depict a strong political and social vision, demonstrating the power of the arts to improve our world.” The artist also founded Socrates Sculpture Park in 1986 in Long Island City, Queens, which is adjacent to his studio property. The park site had been an illegal dump on city-owned land.
The other Medal of Arts recipients are actress Meryl Streep; musicians Quincy Jones, James Taylor, Van Cliburn and Sonny Rollins; novelist Harper Lee; poet Donald Hall; theater producer Robert Brustein; and the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.
