Sculptor’s life retrospective exhibit at Grounds for Sculpture to be held through Sept. 21.
by James McEvoy, Managing Editor
HAMILTON — As the 200-pound white veil was removed – by crane – onlookers applauded the latest iconic image to be immortalized through sculpture.
A 26-foot-tall stainless steel and aluminum sculpture, which depicts Marilyn Monroe in the 1955 film “The Seven Year Itch,” was officially unveiled May 2 as the centerpiece of a lifetime retrospective of sculptor and Grounds For Sculpture founder, Seward Johnson.
The “Forever Marilyn” sculpture is just one of 287 works, including 91 painted trays, by Mr. Johnson that will be featured at a retrospective exhibit, which runs through Sept. 21.
Prior to toasting to the sculpture, which arrived April 8 after a six-day, cross-country journey, its creator discussed its monumental nature.
”We feel that these images are in all of our subconscious and so that’s the reason that I try to do monumental shared images and so I wanted to make them as big as they feel inside us,” Mr. Johnson said, who founded the grounds in 1992.
”It makes me so proud that people sort of agree with me that people themselves are worth sculpting and I try to do something to represent the American way of life, the American dream.
”I welcome you all here,” he added. “There’s lots to see.”
Mr. Johnson’s works will be sited in three indoor galleries as well as across the 42-acre park campus.
Mr. Johnson, 83, is an American sculptor and philanthropist who has dedicated his career to public art. His life-like bronze and monumental figures are familiar sights throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia, according to the release.
The exhibit will span five decades of Mr. Johnson’s exploration into what he refers to as “The Visceral Moment,” per the release. He describes the visceral moment as the pivotal moment when viewers engage with a piece of artwork and transcend their own place in space and time to experience a heightened connection to their common humanity.
Also on view during the exhibit are works from his “Beyond the Frame series,” which is an homage to the impressionist painters such as Claude Monet’s Garden at Sainte-Addresse and Edouard Manet’s Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe.
A third series, “Icons Revisited,” includes works inspired by familiar and time-tested images, including the famous Times Square V-Day moment when a sailor kissed a nurse. This iconic sculpture, enlarged to 25 feet, has been invited to Times Square, San Diego, Sarasota and Rome, Italy.
Throughout the duration of “Seward Johnson: The Retrospective,” exhibit, Grounds For Sculpture will offer hands-on art-making workshops inspired by the humor and humanistic insight of this prolific artist, tours of the park and artwork, screenings of archival footage, an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour with Johnson himself and more, according to a press release.
Among the local and regional dignitaries on hand for the unveiling was Adam Perle, vice president of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce, who spoke on the economic boon generated by increased tourism that results from events like the exhibit.
”I think anytime an exceptional attraction like Grounds for Sculpture unveils something as amazing as not only Marilyn herself, but the entire collection, it’s of course going to be a driver,” Mr. Perle said, noting the facility regularly gets in excess of 160,000 visitors annually.
”It’s a huge economic driver when you look at overall travel and tourism,” he added.
Citing a study by the New Jersey Conference on Tourism, the chamber recently announced tourism expenditures in Mercer County in 2013 was in excess of $1.15 billion – an all time high.
To view a complete calendar of upcoming events, visit www.groundsforsculpture.org.