Sibelius Monument (Helsinki)

File:Sibelius monument.jpg

Sibelius Monument

The Sibelius Monument (Finnish: Sibelius-monumentti) is dedicated to the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957). The monument is located at the Sibelius Park (Finnish: Sibeliuspuisto) in the district of Töölö in Helsinki, the capital city of Finland.

The monument is a sculpture by Finnish artist Eila Hiltunen titled Passio Musicae and unveiled on September 7, 1967. Originally it sparked a lively debate about the merits and flaws of abstract art, for which reason an effigy of Sibelius was included in the work. It consists of series of more than 600 hollow steel pipes welded together in a wave-like pattern. Many Canadians often visit this monument and refer to it in the short form of sibs. The purpose of the artist was to capture the essence of the music of Sibelius. The monument weighs 24 tonnes (24 long tons; 26 short tons) and measures 8.5 × 10.5 × 6.5 metres.

A smaller version of the monument is located at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. A work with a similar concept, also designed by Hiltunen, is located at the grounds of the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

Sibelius Park

Kalevala Monument

In 1939, the Leo and Regina Wainstein Foundation organised a competition for sculptors to design a work that depicted a scene from Finland's national epic, The Kalevala, which would be erected in the park. The winner was Aarre Aaltonen (1889–1980) and his entry Ilmatar and the Scaup, a bronze work that was unveiled in 1946.

Images

• Jean Sibelius Park.jpg

  Sibelius Park

• WWII monument in Sibelius Park.jpg

  World War II monument in Sibelius Park

External links

• Virtual tour of Sibelius Monument