This is a guest post written by Elaine Friedman, who many of you lovingly know as ElainePDX on social media.
Marilyn Monroe’s fluttering skirt. Claude Monet’s water lilies. Abraham Lincoln’s top hat. Matisse’s The Dance. Wood’s American Gothic. Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party. Munch’s The Scream. If you have a mental image of any these famous visuals, and you’re curious what they might have in common, read on!
Forever Marilyn
Back when I lived in Princeton, New Jersey, I always noticed the man who sat reading, quietly, as he ate his sandwich in Palmer Square. Rain or shine, he was there. Then I moved cross country and another man caught my fancy as he strode across Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, Oregon.
Once again, rain or shine, he too was there, with his umbrella open and his hand extended. In fact, when some publicity shots were done back in 1993 for a book I wrote on Portland, I shared his umbrella, just as countless other fans have done.
Creations of John Seward Johnson II, these bronze sculptures are typical of Johnson’s efforts to depict ordinary life in sculpture. He installs his pieces where they both belong and can surprise passers-by. His “Double Check” sculpture of a businessman sat for nearly 20 years in Zucotti Park, only to be covered by debris when the Twin Towers came down on September 11, 2001. Indeed, more than a few volunteers who responded to the crisis went to check him, assuming he was a survivor in need of assistance.
Double Check by John Seward, photo http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/
Double Check by Seward Johnson, ©1982 after 9/11
When I learned about the Seward Johnson Retrospective Exhibition at Grounds for Sculpture, I had to go. Grounds for Sculpture is located near Princeton in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. It is a most unusual place where paintings jump off the canvas and favorite photographs are transformed into giant sculptures. A gift from Seward Johnson, the large and beautifully landscaped campus also houses many modern pieces, which nicely complement the more exuberant Johnson sculptures.
Here are some of my favorites:
If you find them as fun and enticing as I did, I’ll be sure to look for you peeking over the life-size Monet’s shoulder as he paints a summer outing, or joining Manet’s models as they lunch in the grass. And no looking up Marilyn’s skirt!!
Can you find me?
How about here?
The Seward Johnson Retrospective Exhibit runs through July 1, 2015. I highly recommend a visit.
A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
Wow! What a treasure! Thank you for Elaine Friedman’s excellent blogpost on the Seward Johnson Retrospective Exhibition–It makes me want to go and see the sculptures myself, but the photos are probably the closest I’ll get to the real thing.
Wonderful!
Delightful piece. Umbrella man is such an integral part of my psychi I forget how honored Portlanders should feel to have him in our living room. Seward Johnson and Michael Graves (Portlandia), what more does a small city need to play with the big boys?
I love that you are able to walk into a sculptural depiction of a painting and become a part of it. I’d never heard of this place. Thanks!
i will be in the NYC area and will definitely go see this exhibit. The sculptures are so lifelike you have to look twice to realize they are sculptures. Thank you for posting this.
As an east coast person, I am glad that there is a show of all of these out here now. Thanks for pointing it out.
Great post! I wish I could get to NJ but it isn’t in the cards right now.
Thank you, Elaine, for bringing this exhibition to my attention. You’ve broadened my world! Love the photos and your insightful writing.
I’ve long enjoyed walking past Seward Johnson’s Taxi!
on Park Avenue and 47th Street in New York City,
but had no idea he also made statues of well-known people
and famous scenes. Now I’m looking forward to seeing
the retrospective in Princeton. Thank you, Elaine.
Thanks for all the great comments. We were very lucky that the dear friends who hosted us in Princeton were members of Grounds for Sculpture, and they not only drove us over from Princeton, but they knew their way around. I look forward to going back because the grounds are so vast that I am sure even then we missed some of the fun and I know I would enjoy seeing everything again.
If you are car-less, you can take Amtrak. Check the website for specifics on the best strategy for arriving by train. You might need a very short cab ride from the station to the grounds.
But one way or another, do go!