SOMA Living May 2022

ARTISTOF THEMONTH

What is TAU, who is Tony Smith?

Tau, a presence that configures 6,000 pounds of steel, is a monumental sculpture by South Orange native and world renowned artist Tony Smith. The work is bold and singular, but appearing modular, offering many vantage points. The work represents nothing, while being a mirror for its surroundings. Tau is as open to interpretation as a viewer is to its acceptance.

Tony Smith grew up in the Great Depression. Born to a manufacturing family, he attended Fordham, then Georgetown University, and returned to open a used bookstore in Newark. Smith began courses at the Art Students League and studied in Chicago at the New Bauhaus. In 1938 he worked for Frank Lloyd Wright, as a brick-layer and later became commissioned to design and build structures under his own name. Eventually Smith reconnected with his “art”, and taught design at Hunter College, then the Cooper Union, Pratt Institute, NYU and Bennington College, Vermont. During this time Smith was influenced by New York’s circle of abstract painters and friends Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, who would visit Smith’s studio; a spacious sculpture garden, adorned with his wooden maquettes and rigid forms, located behind his home on Stanley Road in Montrose Park. In 1962 Smith created Die, a six-foot steel cube, establishing his footing as a premiere American artist. While the specific inspiration unclear, as a viewer would approach this mass, there is no doubt their own mortality comes into question. The scale and weight, enough to obliterate anything in its path, gave new meaning to what it is “to sculpt”. Perhaps Smith’s biggest break was his inclusion in the Jewish Museum’s 1966 exhibition ‘Primary Structures’ which opened the door for his work at an increasingly larger scale. He became featured at prominent institutions including the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Venice Biennale, and the National Gallery in Washington D.C. This biggest “Smith effect” is the legacy of Tony Smith., who inspired the following generation of American artists including Sol LeWitt and sculptor Richard Serra among many others associated with this movement known as “Minimalism”. Smith spent his life collecting influences and honing his talent across the fields of art, design, and architecture, which he generously shared with any student or contemporary who dared to pick up a pencil and turn it into a career. The Smith residence on Stanley Road was a gathering place for many creatives that rigorously developed then unknown art forms. This environment inspired his children Kiki and Seton to also become professional artists on their own. Tau was installed in Meadowland park in 2003 and was gifted by the Tony Smith Estate. The installation was organized Judy Wukitsch and the Lennie Pierro Memorial Arts Foundation, seeking to enrich the lives of South Orange and visitors from all communities.

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! JOIN US FOR: BATTLE OF THE CHEFS A BENEFIT FOR JESPY HOUSE Thursday, June 23, 2022 - 6pm Orange Lawn Tennis Club, South Orange, NJ

The event will raise funds for JESPY House, a nonprofit that supports adults with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities. Watch Chef Ivan of Orange Lawn Tennis Club “battle” it out with Chef Tony of Edgewood Country Club.

For sponsorship and ticket information scan this code, visit www.jespy.org , or email events@jespy.org.

Tony Smith died in 1980 at the age of 68.

The Estate of Tony Smith is represented by Pace Gallery, New York.

Tau can be seen everyday in Meadowland Park on the Corner of Ridgewood Road and Mead Street.

102 Prospect Street, South Orange, NJ 07079

Special thanks to Jason Rulnick for this Contribution

MAY 2022 | SOMA LIVING 25

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