“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”
TAU
South Orange’s artistic roots are deep and varied. They connect us to our past, present and future. It is through this generational transfer of memory and appreciation that three friends, Judy Wukitsch, Sherry Beth Sacks, and Sally Unsworth, gathered with a similar mission - to pay tribute a renowned local artist, the late Tony Smith, his iconic sculpture TAU, and to revel in the beloved arts community that brought them together.
Sally Unsworth: So, I know that my first entrée into the artist community in South Orange was through Jo Jochnowitz, who sold us his house on Summit Avenue in 2014. My husband and I bought that house largely because of Jo and his wife Carol whose quirky and creative joie de vivre was baked into every inch of the house. Jo’s closing words to me as he handed me the keys were “Find Judy.” It wasn’t until I connected with Sherry who was bringing people together to draw attention to the Pierro Gallery that we finally met. Sherry, how was it that you first connected to Judy?
Sherry Beth Sacks: I was curating a show at the Pierro Gallery when I discovered the historical treasure trove of exhibition catalogues in the closet. I leafed through and was amazed to see the depth and breadth of these exhibitions. It was then that I sought out Judy.
Sally: Judy, as you were founding the Pierro Gallery and building the arts programming in town, how did your efforts lead to the Tony Smith Sculpture Project?
Judy Wukitsch: It is hard to imagine today, but when we moved to South Orange in 1987 there wasn’t much happening in town nor the arts in the area. My husband, Lennie Pierro, and I were both artists, had 3 young children, and wanted a rich environment for them to grow up in. We also strongly believed in community and felt a partnership with artists working together would achieve this dream. We founded the Gallery of South Orange in 1994, (the Village later changed the name to the Pierro Gallery,) in an unused space in the Baird that initiated a wave of events. After working as a volunteer gallery director for a few years and teaching children’s enrichment programs, the position of a Cultural Affairs person was originated where I developed a full arts program for the Village and surrounding areas. It was during a visit to the Museum of Modern Art in NYC to see the Tony Smith retrospective in 1998, that Lennie and I saw on the labels “born: South Orange NJ.” and Wow! It hit us that we had no idea this world-renowned sculptor was a native son of our town! How could that be? The instant feelings of pride and connection were palpable. My husband passionately felt we needed to acknowledge Smith to share this significant framework for our community and talked to everyone he met. It wasn’t until his death that I, and a group of dedicated arts and community people, made this dream come true through the Lennie Pierro Memorial Arts Foundation.
Sally: Over the years, I’ve come to view TAU as the unofficial mascot for South Orange, but also a signpost for Essex County. I must pass it ten times a day in my comings and goings, and each time, it is cast in a different light depending on the angle and weather and mood I’m in. My kids have developed a game over who can call out “TAU!” first. This makes me smile as it was the same game I played with my brothers whenever we saw the St. Louis Arch during my childhood there.
Sherry: I know one of my biggest concerns when we moved from Brooklyn and began looking for homes in South Orange was a feeling that we were leaving so much art and culture behind in the city. When I drove past TAU, it was a relief to see a great piece of modern art right away. For that reason, I think it serves as a symbol of transition for me. It was only later that I became familiar with Tony Smith’s body of work and his connection to town.
Judy: I love to hear this! The personal encounters...and interpretations, of people with TAU are so interesting and individual. That’s what public sculpture is about. The passing-by every day on your way to work and seeing the changes from the light reflecting on the surfaces. That’s when many folks finally “get it!” To enhance this experience a number of excellent projects in art, math, and writing, are on tonysmithsouthorange.orgthat are there for the taking for anyone, particularly educators. I’m hopeful that a new generation of students will also take advantage of these resources and deepen their understanding of the sculpture, particularly SOMS that sits steps away from TAU. It’s also why it’s so important we continue to take care of TAU and tell its story.
Sherry: Both my boys will be attending SOMS together this Fall, and its warming to know that TAU will be a part of their everyday visual experience and that it is so accessible. The history of the art is braided into their time there whether they are aware of it or not.
Judy: The Tony Smith Project and TAU is a wonderful partnering of government, private foundation, and the community-at-large for South Orange. The substantial impact in defining our personal identity is found in Tony Smith, along with his daughters, Kiki Smith and Seton Smith, third generation South Orange and significant artists in their own right, who exemplify the influence of ‘place’ on oneself. Tony built his massive sculptures in their backyard; Kiki references her home and neighborhood as her earliest encounters with making art; Seton’s photographs often relate to her childhood home - a large, Victorian, extremely sparse house. The catalogue produced by LPMAF for Kiki and Seton’s exhibition at Seton Hall University’s Walsh Gallery in 2016, A Sense of Place, showed that in “sharing their background, thoughts, and ideas as imparting a tremendous realization of possibilities, especially to young people. Having a connection to someone or someplace that has given rise to prominence often broadens the horizon for others.” (Jeanne Brasile, Director, Walsh Gallery) Yes, TAU is very much a part of our collective home.
“In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine.”
About the Authors
JUDY WUKITSCH
Judy Wukitsch is an independent arts consultant, curator, jeweler and artist, now living in Hoboken, NJ, having retired as co-founder and Director of the Pierro Gallery and Cultural Arts Director in South Orange for 16 years. She is founder/President of the Lennie Pierro memorial Arts Foundation, whose inaugural project was bringing a Tony Smith sculpture to the Village. Judy was an Adjunct Professor at Kean University for 14 years and continues to serve on numerous non-profit arts boards.
SALLY UNSWORTH
Sally Unsworth is a CASA advocate and peer coordinator for CASA Essex County and an active volunteer for many causes in town.
SHERRY SACKS
Sherry Sacks is a South Orange based artist and educator.
ABOUT TONY SMITH AND TAU
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 1960s and 1970s with his large-scale, geometric sculpture.
Anthony Peter Smith was born on September 23, 1912, in South Orange, New Jersey. His grandfather and namesake A.P. Smith founded a municipal waterworks factory in nearby East Orange. The young Smith would visit the factory often, fascinated by the machinery and the fabrication process. In his early twenties, while helping with the family business, Smith attended the Art Students League of New York, studying painting, drawing, and anatomy.
In 1932, Smith visited the International Style architecture exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and was deeply impressed by it. A few years later, he moved to Chicago to work in the offices of Frank Lloyd Wright before striking out on his own as an architectural designer. Though he received several prominent commissions, Smith became disillusioned with the business and returned to New York to focus on his art.
During the 1940s and 1950s, Smith continued to paint, befriending the Abstract Expressionist artists Barnett Newmann, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Clyfford Still. He also began to experiment with simple, three-dimensional geometric shapes, combining and then enlarging them to create drama through scale. While the mock-ups were often made of cardboard or wood, the final work was envisioned in steel.
Tony Smith created many of his famous sculptures in his original childhood home in South Orange, where he lived with his wife Jane and their daughters Kiki, Seton, and Beatrice. Often he created plywood mock-ups of these works in his backyard. Smith’s artist friends, who included Newman, Pollock, and Rothko, along with the playwright Tennessee Williams, visited him there regularly. His children attended the town’s public schools.
The Lennie Pierro Memorial Arts Foundation (LPMAF) was created in 2002 in honor of the passing of longtime Village resident Lennie Pierro, co-founder of the Pierro Gallery of South Orange. After visiting the Tony Smith retrospective at MoMA in 1998, it became Pierro's dream to bring a Smith sculpture to his hometown. LPMAF proposed a community partnership to the South Orange Board of Trustees to achieve this goal. Smith’s widow Jane generously gifted the right to fabricate the sculpture TAU in honor of her husband. With financial support from The Village and donations from hundreds of private individuals through the LPMAF, TAU was sited, fabricated, and installed in Meadowland Park in 2008. Related arts education programs in district schools continue to be funded by LPMAF. In addition to that funding, a group of volunteers from the community worked together to realize the details of siting, installation, promotion, maintenance, and education about the sculpture. Members of The Tony Smith Sculpture Project (TSSP) continue their work today to enhance viewing, enjoyment, and learning from TAU.
