Morristown unveils Speedwell sculpture backed by developer dollars for public art
MORRISTOWN — Local leaders and community members unveiled the latest effort in an innovative effort to invest in public art as part of the redevelopment projects remaking the town.
The new piece, a sculpture by Missouri-based artist Nathan S. Pierce called "Convergent," was unveiled Tuesday afternoon in the Open Space at Speedwell Park, between the Modera 44 andModera 55 apartment developments. Pierce's work features intersecting stainless steel semi-circles decorated with green, blue and rust-coloredacrylic panels.
It's meant to symbolize the growth of Morristown and the shared culture of its residents, Pierce and local officials said at the unveiling ceremony.
"The circular forms, they kind of bring the eye back in on itself in a few different ways," Pierce explained, "but it also becomes a metaphor for how this development has become part of the community that it serves."
The sculpture is the second piece to be included as part of the town's "One Percent for Art" program in partnership with the nonprofit group Morris Arts. The initiative, started in 2015, requires redevelopment projects to dedicate 1% of capital costs, up to $100,000, for the installation and maintenance of outdoor art on or adjacent to new projects.
"Public art is a distinguishing part of our public history and our evolving culture. It reflects and reveals our society and adds meaning to our cities and uniqueness to our communities," Morris Arts Executive Director Tom Werder said Tuesday. "Through this program, Morristown joins some of the great American towns and cities that understand on a deep level how arts and culture increase livability and economic development, which in turn creates safe and interesting places for people to thrive."
The first work of art added through the One Percent program was the Gateway Totems Project at the Early Street Community Garden in 2016. Werder said there will be another installation next to the Fox Rothschild LLP law firm at the intersection of Market and Bank streets, while a project for the M Station development along Morris Street is likely the "next one on the horizon" after that.
Pierce was selected for the Speedwell project via an international selection process that began in June 2018. Approximately 30 of his sculptures are on display throughout the country, including works in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Chicago, Illinois.
"I am thrilled and thankful that my work is going to be a permanent part of your community and help it thrive and grow in its new direction," Pierce said at Tuesday's ceremony.
To Werder's knowledge, Morristown is one of the few New Jersey towns, if not the only one, to have a One Percent for Art program. He said the state has its own requirements for development projects, while programs that mandate funding for art are generally found in largertowns like New York City and Philadelphia.
"For a local municipality, this is a pretty unique situation in New Jersey as far as I know," Werder said.
The program's origins in Morristown date back to about 2010, when Kadie Dempsey, then director of creative placemaking for Morris Arts, met with Mayor Tim Dougherty and pitched the idea of a public art initiative and how to fund it.
"This is not going to be the first [art project] and it won't be the last," Dougherty said at Tuesday's ceremony. "We're just so excited that we have a partnership throughout many different organizations. That's how you get things done, and that's how a community thrives and grows and breathes."
This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Morristown unveils Speedwell sculpture in new public art program
