Richard Sternoff Beyer passed away April 9, 2012 at age 86. His passion for storytelling, science, and the public experience of art, continues on with his family and friends. Rich Beyer inspired everyone who knew him. A celebration of his life will be held on June 16, 2012 in the Fremont district of Seattle, Washington.
Please click on our Visitors page to upload any thoughts and pictures you may have of Rich's work and perhaps memories you might want to share. Many thanks.
Please click on our Visitors page to upload any thoughts and pictures you may have of Rich's work and perhaps memories you might want to share. Many thanks.
People Waiting for the Interurban
“People Waiting for the Interurban,” created in 1978 by Richard S. Beyer, is a well known icon in Seattle, Washington. Rich’s studio was in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle when the Fremont Arts Council wanted something artistic to put in a proposed brick traffic triangle in the center of town. They hoped to create a community identity and focal point for redevelopment to what was then a blighted and stagnated area. Rich alone had some ideas. It was agreed he would create a large-scale multi-figure sculpture in cast aluminum. “People Waiting for the Interurban” was the center for renewal of Fremont, which became a thriving, bustling community, rich in commerce and the arts. Members of the community sometimes dress up the sculptural figures in costumes to celebrate life.
Richard S. Beyer, Sculptor, was born July 26, 1925, in Washington, DC, and forty years later he set out on an artistic career in Seattle, Washington. He passed away on April 9th, 2012, in New York City, NY.
"Art is seeing common things transformed by love, and the best public art belongs to the story of a community", said Rich. Between 1968 and 2006 he created over 90 sculptures for public spaces in cities and towns throughout the U.S.A. (and beyond) that reflect local values and lore. His designs are active and direct, using animals and people with expressively carved gestures to tell stories about experience and interaction. Beyer used humor to affirm the human condition, often making fun of things that limit and debase, such as pretension and complacency. This is art that can challenge our ordinary assumptions, yet is totally approachable by young and old - an "art people love!"
"Art is seeing common things transformed by love, and the best public art belongs to the story of a community", said Rich. Between 1968 and 2006 he created over 90 sculptures for public spaces in cities and towns throughout the U.S.A. (and beyond) that reflect local values and lore. His designs are active and direct, using animals and people with expressively carved gestures to tell stories about experience and interaction. Beyer used humor to affirm the human condition, often making fun of things that limit and debase, such as pretension and complacency. This is art that can challenge our ordinary assumptions, yet is totally approachable by young and old - an "art people love!"
