The Haddonfield Outdoor Sculpture Trust will unveil “Monk,” its third public sculpture placement, on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 5:30 p.m. on the plaza of the Rising Sun Lodge №15 F&AM at 16 Kings Highway East.
A reception will follow in the Masonic Lodge. Borough officials will join with lodge officials and the members of the trust to mark the occasion.
“Monk” was created by Harry Gordon and will be on display in Haddonfield until the first quarter of 2016.
Gordon’s exhibitions, commissions and collections span more than 25 years and his work is on display in more than a dozen states ranging from Massachusetts to Florida to Texas to California, appearing in private collections as well as on campuses of many universities, hospitals and museums.
It joins “Uno” by Miguel Antonio Horn and “Muse” by Joe Mooney as HOST placements. “Uno,” which was sited on June 8, 2013, has become a permanent addition to the borough streetscape thanks to a significant donation to the trust by the Stainrook Foundation, is located in the Mechanic Street Sculpture Garden at Mechanic street and Haddon Avenue.
“Muse,” which was unveiled on Sept. 9 of this year, is sited in the entrance plaza garden of the Republic Bank branch at Kings Highway and Chestnut Street.
All three works were chosen by HOST ‘s Selection Advisory Committee, which includes Robert Roesch, chair of the Department of Sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, renowned artist and Haddonfield resident, John Giannotti, the creator of “Haddie,” which commemorates the discovery of an intact Hadrosaurus skeleton in Haddonfield, artist and sculptor Beth Wagner, Allie Westerside, a member of the arts faculty at Haddonfield Memorial High School, and HOST chair Stuart Harting, who also serves as a member of the borough’s planning board.
The trust was also responsible for the installation of sixteen 12” x 12” tiles created by an art student at Haddonfield Memorial High School, under the direction of Westerside. The tiles line the walls of Mechanic Street between Kings Highway and Haddon Avenue as they depict Mechanic Street as the historical transportation center of Haddonfield.
“The trust is achieving its goal to transform this walk-able, attractive and historically significant borough into a significant center for juried outdoor sculpture in the great tradition of public art,” Harting said.
The members of the initial trust board include in addition to Harting, Roesch and Wagner, Christopher Leise, Esq. of the Markeim Arts Center, architect Tom Wagner, and Michael Willmann, chair of the Non Profit Development Center of Southern New Jersey.
“Haddonfield has many sites that would seem appropriate for evaluation as locations for either permanent or rotating placements,” Harting said.
HOST is currently considering two approaches to initial placements, arterial “entrances” to the town, and at public locations within the town.
