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 The Sculpture Project A community works to bring Smith's sculpture TAU home |
 Enhancing a Community Reaffirming South Orange's reputation as an arts destination |
 Making it Happen Kiki and Seton, Smith's daughters, at the Art & Soul Gala in 2006 |
NOW MORE THAN EVER, WE NEED YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS!
Any amount is appreciated.
Please do it today!
Any amount is appreciated.
Do it today!
Contribute $500 or more to have your name included on the permanent plaque at the sculpture site.
DONATE ONLINE:
Go to networkforgood.com, a secure donation site for non-profits. At home page enter charity name: Lennie Pierro Memorial Arts Foundation.
OR CONTACT:
mail@pierrofoundation@org
or call 973-762-4090
ABOUT TONY SMITH
Tony Smith was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. A sculptor,
painter and architect who apprenticed with Frank Lloyd Wright, he reached international
fame in the sixties and seventies as a sculptor. He was dubbed “Master of the Monumentalists”
on the cover of TIME magazine in 1967. A 1998 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York reaffirmed Smith’s stature and reputation.
Smith was born in 1912 in South Orange, New Jersey, about 14 miles west of New York City.
He lived and worked here much of his life. Smith created many of his famous sculptures while living in his family home on Stanley Road in the historic Montrose district of town; some were displayed in his backyard. Prominent artists of the day, including friends Barnett Newman,
Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Tennessee Williams visited him there regularly. It was
Williams who delivered Smith’s eulogy when he died in 1980.
 The sculptor with family members |
 1967 TIME cover featuring Smith |
In addition to MOMA, examples of Smith’s work can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Guggenheim Museum, The National Gallery of Art, The Hirshhorn, the Walker Art Center, The New Jersey State Museum, the Newark Museum, the Montclair Art Museum, and the Nasher Sculpture Center. Cities where Smith’s work has been on public display include New York, Detroit, Princeton, Seattle, Minneapolis, San Antonio, Cambridge, Ottawa, Buffalo, Seoul, Dallas, Tokyo, Valencia, Boston, St. Louis, Louisville, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Toledo, Houston, Rochester, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Oslo, Honolulu, Albany, Milwaukee, San Francisco, and Miami.
The Matthew Marks Gallery in New York City represents the Tony Smith estate. For more information, visit the gallery website.
Today Kiki Smith, Tony’s daughter, is one of the foremost artists of her generation. Her sister, Seton, a photographer, is also well known in the art world. Both grew up in South Orange and attended Columbia High School. The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City mounted a major retrospective of Kiki’s work in November, 2006.
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THE SCULPTURE PROJECT
In 2002, the Lennie Pierro Memorial Arts Foundation (LPMAF), was created in honor of the passing of longtime village resident Lennie Pierro, an artist, professor, and co-founder of The Gallery of South Orange (renamed the Pierro Gallery in his memory). It was Pierro’s dream to bring a Tony Smith sculpture to his hometown. LPMAF proposed a community partnership to the South Orange Board of Trustees to achieve this goal. Jane Smith agreed to donate the sculpture, TAU, valued at $600,00.00+, in honor of her husband, Tony Smith. The Village of South Orange, and LPMAF, through The Tony Smith Sculpture Project, are responsible for the fabrication cost, installation, and siting of TAU. Jane Smith passed away in 2005 before the project could be fully realized.
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 Jane Smith
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TAU is black painted steel and measures 14 ft high x 21 ft wide x 12 ft deep. The original model for the sculpture was created by Smith in 1961-62 using his signature process of joining small cardboard tetrahedrons.
As common with many sculptors, Smith envisioned limited editions of three for his work. There is a TAU in front of Hunter College in New York City, where Smith taught. In contrast to that urban setting, the permanent site for this edition of TAU is Meadowlands Park in South Orange, on the slope between the Duck Pond and North Ridgewood Road.
The Emmy-award winning PBS show State of the Arts produced a documentary on the project.
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Rendering of TAU site looking toward North Ridgewood Road from the far side of the pond
From Mead Street looking toward the pond and South Orange Middle School
Rendering by Ann Kearsley Design
The acquisition of a sculpture by an artist of Smith’s enhances the quality of life in our town and in surrounding communities as well. It is rare for a village of South Orange’s size (about 16,000) to possess such a prominent work of public art. Related arts education programs in district schools are being funded by The Pierro Foundation; an academic symposium is being developed in conjunction with Seton Hall University; and exhibits in several nearby museums and galleries are being explored.
The value of public art to a contemporary, diverse community cannot be overestimated. TAU, which is wholly owned by South Orange and its residents, will join established community art venues and programs at The Baird, including the Pierro Gallery and Giants of Jazz concert, and the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC), in making the town a vibrant arts destination.
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Fundraising efforts for the sculpture project started in 2002 and continue today. A 2006
Art & Soul Gala honoring community supporter and visionary, realtor Roy Scott, was attended
by Kiki and Seton Smith. In May, 2007, LPMAF hosted “A Little Night Music,” a community backyard event celebrating the TAU 100, supporters whose donations to the project make
them eligible to have their names listed on a donor plaque at the sculpture site. A local art collector donated $20,000 earmarked for the final installation of the sculpture which occured
on November 19, 2008.
President Judy Wukitsch presenting the 2006 Art & Soul honor to
community champion and visionary, realtor Roy Scott
The sculpture is installed, but our work is not done. Your help is still needed. Funds are necessary to cover lighting,
maintenance, and educational programming. Whether you are a member of our nearby towns, an admirer of the work of Tony Smith, or simply understand the value and importance of public art to a community, won’t you join us in completing the journey of bringing TAU home to South Orange? It’s easy.
See information below.
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THE LENNIE PIERRO MEMORIAL ARTS FOUNDATION
TO DONATE ONLINE:
Go to networkforgood.com, a secure donation site for non-profits.
At home page enter charity name: Lennie Pierro Memorial Arts Foundation.
OR CONTACT:
mail@pierrofoundation@org
or call 973-762-4090
The Lennie Pierro Memorial Arts Foundation is registered as a charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Send donations and inquiries to 71 South Orange Avenue, Box 335, South Orange, NJ 07079. For further information contact mail@pierrofoundation@org or call 973-762-4090.
JUDY WUKITSCH, President TAU ADVISORY COMMITTEE |