Atlantic Ave March 2017 Edition

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regulars ║ city people
City People
marc stevens
The Man With Hands And Heart Of Gold
By Diane Feen
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Photo by melissa korman
If you haven’t heard of Marc Stevens you’re probably in the majority.
That’s the way he likes it.
Stevens is a behind the scenes kind of guy. He’s
the person who makes sure the power is running at
the Green Market, he puts up the tents for art shows,
hangs the paintings at the Cornell Museum and does
every and anything that needs to be done at the cultural
intersection of life and liberty in Delray Beach.
It’s been almost 20 years since Stevens first set
foot in Old School Square (OSS). He came with extensive
experience managing apartments, college
housing and buildings. But while those might have
been jobs, his trajectory at OSS is his occupation,
preoccupation and his life.
“I love Old School Square. It’s like a family; we’ve
all been here so long. This is my life and I’d rather be
here than anywhere else.”
And that’s exactly where he is most days from
5:30 am till dark. But one thing is constant – Stevens
love of OSS and his ability to make others love
it as well.
“All of us who work here are focused on the guests
who come here. Over 450,000 people visit a year
and that’s why we do what we do. If people come
through those doors and enjoy themselves then I
feel like I’ve done a good job. I want them to want to
come back again.”
Those lofty goals weigh heavy on Steven’s consciousness.
That’s why he is the person everyone
can rely on to create sculptures, do lighting, make
platforms, load and unload items for special events,
refinish flooring and take remnants of past lives and
repurpose them.
But there’s one person who has left an indelible
mark on Stevens’ life. It’s the person he first
worked with, and the person who motivated him to
create life-size sculptures from tiny doodles on paper
napkins. “I wouldn’t be the same person without
Joe Gillie. I learned about the arts from Joe, he
taught me about the history of Delray, the founders
and about friendship.”
Gillie and Stevens were a perfect combination of
creative genius and meticulous ingenuity. It was Gillie’s
idea to create a Purple Octopus (for First Night)
and a Dove Sculpture that Stevens toted to various
parks and venues for a whole year. It was also Gillie’s
idea to turn Cornell Museum into The Emerald City.
Stevens did just that.
“I created a yellow brick road and the front of the
museum looked just like the Emerald City. Every
room was a scene out of the Wizard of Oz (with a
house that crashed from the sky). It was beautiful.”
Stevens also created an eight-foot LOVE sculpture,
a motorized Lighthouse and a stage for Dr.
Ruth Westheimer that she took home with her for
future appearances.
There’s not much that Steven’s can’t create. And
there’s not much ego attached to his being able to do
so. You can tell by the vibe of his office. It is there that
the gears turn in his transcendent psyche. And it is
there that light bulbs, paper towels and Tupperware
sit in a free-standing porcelain sink in front of his
cluttered desk.
There’s also a large framed portrait of a man that
obviously had some pertinence to OSS at one time.
Though he cuts a rather piercing glance in his suit,
tie and distinguished glasses Stevens doesn’t think
much about it. “No one knows who he is, every once
in a while we hang him somewhere.”
That’s the way it is with Stevens. He distributes
his talent all over the OSS area and doesn’t think too
hard about any of it. When finished with the interview
he quips, “If you want to take all those notes
and rip them up I’m fine with it.”
But one gets the idea he does care – he just
doesn’t enjoy being in the spotlight. He does, however
like making items in or around the spotlight.
“On New Years Eve we used a Genie Crane to lift a
PVC ball with lights 120 feet in the air and dropped
it from the museum. The first project I ever worked
on at OSS was First Night and it’s one of the best
things I’ve ever done.”
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March 2017 | www.AtlanticAveMagazine.com