The unveiling of his first large-scale sculpture in the United States was a triumph for Australian sculptor, Todd Stuart, but it would not have happened without strong project management behind the scenes.
Interviewed at the unveiling of his sculpture in New York in June, Stuart said his understanding of the owner’s and developer’s needs, backed by clear project parameters, contributed as much to the success of the project as his artistic vision and skill.
Summit of Manhattan is his three metre by seven metre mirror-finish stainless steel sculpture. It stands outside the lobby of the new Summit building at 222 East 44th Street, Manhattan. Summit is a 43 storey residential tower built by BLDG property and real estate magnate, Lloyd Goldman. His son, Rob Goldman, was the developer and project manager for the building.
Speaking after the unveiling ceremony, Rob Goldman said he liked ‘building cool things for people to enjoy’ with the Summit development a prime example. Art brought serenity into people homes, adding an emotional tie to their day to day lives.
Worries … and a leap of faith
Goldman said there was much to be concerned about at the beginning of the sculpture project ‘… there is literally everything to be worried about when you have someone from Australia you’ve never met come over an ocean and put something in place that we’re really having as the centrepiece of our building. It really is a leap of faith.’
Goldman believed every project has its own story, and BLDG and the Summit project wanted to create and propagate their own story around many people many with different goals.
He said Todd Stuart made it easy to visualise his end product through his ability to clearly show and share his concept.
‘Not only that, I think Todd’s vision and my father, Lloyd Goldman’s vision for the building just clicked. And it’s easier when everyone … works in parallel ideas and I think it shows here. It really does feel like this was made for the building,’ he said.
Level of care reassuring
Cynicism and a lack of care were all part of the development business in the U.S. The BLDG team found Stuart’s level of care about the sculpture itself, but equally about their wants and needs, reassuring.
A balance between artistic integrity, project control, and a close attention to the needs of the owner was the measure of success for sophisticated projects. Goldman felt that with Summit of Manhattan they had achieved ‘a very personalised experience in this project, especially with Todd and [his] level of care, and just knowing what we wanted to accomplish.’
Goldman said the team was happy with the way the sculpture had entered into their development and America’s imagination in such a short time.
‘We’d be happy to hear about his success here and on other projects and really work with him in the future.’
For further enquiries about project management of large-scale public or private sculpture, call Todd Stuart on +61 4 5151 8865, or visit mainartery.art. You might also like to visit his blog on Your business persona: sculpture and corporate identity.
