Powegian Richard Becker elected to National Sculpture Society

Poway sculptor Richard Becker has two things to celebrate this month: he was elected to the National Sculpture Society and one of his works was chosen to be part of the society’s 77th Annual Awards Exhibition.

Becker, who by day works for Hewlett-Packard in Rancho Bernardo, said he might be the first San Diego-based sculptor to have been elected to the society, which was founded in 1893 to promote the art of sculpting.

At the awards exhibition, Becker will be displaying a sculpture of a head, a cast created to test the patinas for “Liberation,” a 15-foot monument to prisoners of war that will be placed at the new national cemetery expected to open next year near MCAS Miramar.

The exhibition — taking place at Brookgreen Gardens in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — runs through Oct. 31.

Becker, who earned an engineering degree from Stanford University, said that though he came from an artistic family, he avoided the humanities in college, deeming them to be a “waste of his time.”

It wasn’t until he was living in Spain after graduation that he found a love for sculpture.

“It was definitely a great surprise to me,” he said.

He went on to study at the Escola d’Art Barcelona, the Los Angeles Art Academy, Vaugel Studios and the Scottsdale Artists’ School.

His first commissions came from the City of Poway. His sculpture, “The Chicken Feeders,” sits in Old Poway Park and “Mountain Lions” sits near Lake Poway.

Though some might wonder how he reconciles the artist in him with the engineer, Becker is quick to point out how well they complement each other, and points to the work of Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo.

“Most great artists have very technical elements in their work, whether the realize it or not,” Becker said.

He mostly works on commissioned pieces, such as a portrait of writer and director James L. Brooks for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame. For that piece, Becker took time to consult with Brooks, asking him how he wanted to be portrayed.

During their conversation, Becker suggested that the portrait include a small tribute to “The Simpsons,” by having the head of Homer Simpson sprouting from Brook’s shoulder. That explains why in addition to his more realistic work, his studio includes a bust of the animated television patriarch.

His most recent commissioned work, however, is “Liberation” a POW veterans monument that is funded by the San Diego Chapter of the American Ex-Prisoners of War.

The 15-foot-tall bronze monument is currently in storage waiting for the completion of the National Cemetery in Miramar.

The piece shows a prisoner of war at the moment of escape, an emaciated but still muscular torso, tattered pants and the now-free prisoner lifting his hands up to cover the sun.

“There’s a lot of POW sculptures that show the captivity, but this is the first that shows the first moment of freedom,” Becker said.

The primary model for the sculpture was Tommy Crosby of Chula Vista, the grandson of Tom Crosby, who was a prisoner of war during World War II.

Becker said that eventually, he’d like to work on noncommissioned art and exhibit his own work.

For more information about Becker, visit his website at www.richardbecker.com.