Gateway to Sculpture

It took five years and 40 tons of stone for sculptor Harry Gordon to complete the arch he’s installed in New Hope, Pa.’s Union Square.

By:Megan Sullivan
   Sometimes bigger is better. In sculptor Harry Gordon’s case, creating a gargantuan piece of art is more fun, especially when it comes time for transporting and installing it. "I’ve always had a fascination with cranes and moving heavy objects," Mr. Gordon says. "It’s kind of an art in itself to pick up something that’s 20,000 pounds."
   It takes a lot more effort, however, to move a large granite sculpture from Bridgeport, Conn., to New Hope, Pa., when it weighs four times that amount. Mr. Gordon’s largest piece to date, the 40-ton "Large Granite Arch," required two tractor trailers, a crane and a small crew to relocate it at the Route 202 back door entrance to Union Square. "Since I live in Lambertville, I wanted it closer to home," says Mr. Gordon, owner and operator of Harry H. Gordon Studios. "Hopefully it will become a landmark for that entrance."
   The arch was originally installed in 1996 on a Bridgeport beach, as part a friend’s outdoor show. When the show fizzled, however, Mr. Gordon didn’t feel comfortable keeping the 30-foot-long, 10-foot-wide and 18-foot-high-piece there without anyone watching over it.
   For the past 15 years, Mr. Gordon has been transporting and installing large outdoor sculpture at places including galleries, museums and parks. His company has moved sculpture for DeCordova Museum and the Sculpture Park in Lincoln, Mass., and Bristol-Myers Squibb in Lawrence, among others. Having worked with New Hope Arts in the past to install pieces for its yearly outdoor sculpture exhibit, he suggested bringing his arch to New Hope. Robin Larsen, director of New Hope Arts, welcomed the opportunity and says the arch serves as a gateway piece to that end of town. "You have that feeling, ‘Hey, something is going on here,’" Ms. Larsen says.
   Although Mr. Gordon’s piece was installed earlier last month, the arch will be featured in the organization’s upcoming outdoor sculpture exhibit, which opens April 22, along with seven other works in New Hope. Mr. Gordon agreed to leave the piece for three to five years or until it sells. If the piece gets sold, he will replace it with another sculpture. The installation was funded by New Hope Arts and has the support of New Hope Borough, which is helping with the maintenance; the New Hope-Solebury School District, which donated the use of its property for the installation; and JDM Materials, which donated services and material for the foundation. New Hope Mayor Larry Keller, Council President Richard Hirchfield, Borough Manager John Burke, New Hope School Superintendent Dr. Barbara Burke Stephenson and David Hansel all helped the organization complete the project.
   The arch was a work in progress for about five years, Mr. Gordon says, and was made using Vermont granite. "Basically it’s stuff they don’t want to use for industry, so we put it to use for sculpture," he says. Builders look for rectangular blocks for materials, and bigger, more oddly shaped rocks aren’t suitable for their purposes. "Aside from the cost of moving it, if they’ll let you take it, you can pretty much have it," Mr. Gordon says.
   Mr. Gordon had a model of what he wanted his piece to look like, but says he had to work with whatever stone he could find. "While I was picking out the stone I had the idea, but I had to figure out how to make it work," he says. Maintaining the basic shape of the rock, he used a large wire saw to cut each piece and previewed his work by chaining pieces together, then standing them upright. "I try not to manipulate my materials beyond their natural state," he writes on his Web site. "I imbue them with an expression of dignity and grandeur to release their spirit."
   The left tower of arch is made of four elements, the bottom pieces now glued and pinned together permanently, and the right tower consists of two elements. "They are two separate objects but they work together," Mr. Gordon says. "The space in between I’ve always found is kind of inviting and works like a gateway."
   After attending a ceramic sculpture class in Abington at age 12, Mr. Gordon’s love for the art form began. In high school, he apprenticed with Boris Blai, a Russian classically trained figurative sculptor who had worked in Auguste Rodin’s studio and also helped found the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. Under Mr. Blai’s tutelage, Mr. Gordon worked in clay and plaster. He later studied sculpture at Syracuse University and began using metal (cast and fabrication), plastics, wood, stone and ceramics. During his last year, he began to concentrate on cast metal, hand-formed sheet metal and small, carved wood pieces.
   After attending graduate school at Rutgers University, Mr. Gordon worked at the Johnson Atelier in Hamilton as the department head of installations until 1998. He cites the ’80s as a prolific time during which he had ample space to work. The experience of moving and handling large artworks also started to have an effect on the size of his work. Since 1986, Mr. Gordon has participated in more than 20 group exhibitions and his sculpture is included in a number of private collections across the country. He also has work in public collections, such as the James A. Michener Art Museum, Runnymede Sculpture Farm, Plattsburgh Sculpture Park, Public Art Trust Permanent Collection and the Mitchell Museum, among others.
   Through creating sculptures larger than life, Mr. Gordon enjoys the feeling he gets after finishing each piece. "For me, it’s just knowing what I did was right, complete, it’s done and it works," he says. "It’s also about being honest with yourself."
   Despite many years of carving and creating sculptures of all sizes and materials, Mr. Gordon has survived so far without getting carpal tunnel. "I remember having a hard time holding up a coffee cup," he says, recalling how he felt after carving a 40,000 pound piece for Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton. He says his wife, artist Wendy Wilkinson-Gordon, also makes sculpture. "She’s smarter though," he says, laughing. "She does light things that hang on the wall."
Harry Gordon’s Large Granite Arch is located at the back door entrance of Union Square shopping center in New Hope, Pa., on Route 202. The sculpture will be featured in New Hope Arts’ 2006 Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit, which opens April 22. New Hope Arts is located at 2 Stockton Ave., New Hope, Pa. For information on the sculpture installed throughout New Hope or information about upcoming events, call (215) 862-9606. Harry Gordon on the Web: www.gordonsculpture.com. New Hope Arts, Inc. on the Web: www.newhopeartsinc.org