September 2, 2025 • 23 mins
What does it take to dedicate sixty years to a life in art? Artist Tom Nussbaum has been answering that question since childhood—first by tinkering in his dad’s Minnesota workshop, later by filling New York lofts with his whimsical, deeply human creations, and now through monumental public works that thousands encounter every day.
With his first major retrospective opening at the Montclair Art Museum this fall, Tom sits down with us to reflect on the arc of his career—from playful childhood inventions to intricate welded steel works crafted in his East Orange studio at Manufacturer’s Village. Along the way, we talk about the duality in his art: the bold, planned installations that brighten public spaces and the improvisational studio explorations that dig into memory, psychology, and narrative.
We also explore how New Jersey became Tom’s creative home, why community matters as much as craft, and how his lifelong curiosity continues to fuel new work. Whether you’re an artist, an art lover, or just curious about the creative journey, this episode offers a rare look inside a six-decade practice still evolving with joy and purpose.
Montclair Art Museum Tom Nussbaum: But Wait, There's More!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi Rachel, hey Danette, we just got off a
wonderful interview with theartist Tom Nussbaum.
He has a retrospective comingup at the Montclair Art Museum
on September 13th is the openingand everybody has to go.
He is a sculptor and he is amaker of things.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
He has a few pieces that if you see them you'll know
that you've seen them before,and it has to be seen in person.
All these very whimsical, funpieces.
I think that you would love totake your kids to it too,
because I think they would enjoyseeing all the colorful pieces
that he makes.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
And we talk about all of this in the interview about
his decades of work that he'sgoing to show at the museum Just
get a little peek behind thescenes of an artist who grew up
in a creative family and just itwas always a part of his life,
making art.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Yeah, and he didn't go to art school, which I love
because you know they didn't goto art school, you don't?
Speaker 1 (00:57):
always have to go to school for the thing you end up
doing in your life people,that's right Tune in to this
great interview, but also pleasesubscribe.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Please subscribe to our channel.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
We are growing, share it with people Check out our
YouTube channel especially forthis one.
Check out your YouTube channelbecause you can see his almost
finished work that will be atthe museum behind him as he's
talking, and he also gives us alittle tour of his studio, which
is so cool.
That's right, enjoy.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Tom, thank you so much for joining us on Lost in
Jersey.
It's nice to meet you.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Well, thanks for having me.
I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
We were excited to get an email from Ira of the
Montclair Art Museum about yournew exhibit that's coming up.
I believe it's going to beinstalled in September.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Yeah, actually it opens to the public on the 13th
oh great.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I've delivered a few hundred pieces already to the
museum and I have three moreleft to deliver.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Wow, when you walk through the space and discuss
the exhibit with your curator,do you have feelings of where
things should go?
Speaker 3 (02:04):
Yeah, we've been working on this show for go.
Yeah, it's been.
We've been working on this showfor about.
Well, we started talking aboutit two years ago and I would say
the first year and a half wasfinding the work, deciding which
work was going to be included,finding if it was available, and
then, once that was decided,then the curator has a small
(02:28):
architectural model of thegalleries.
What they did was they madelittle miniature versions of
every single piece to scale thatfit in the model and then they
hung the show in the model.
So every piece kind of had ahome in the galleries in
miniature and that's really theguide that they used for
(02:51):
installing the show.
Then the exhibition designercomes in and helps design and
kind of finalize the positionsof the pieces and how they're
going to go.
So it's an involved process anda very thoughtful process.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
No idea there was so much involved.
Yeah, we want to get into yourbackground, but first we want to
note that Rachel and I were.
We were on a trip down to theIndie Film Festival this last
week and we were on, I believeit was, the Garden State Parkway
.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Yeah, it was the Garden State.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
And we're like, oh my God, there's Tom's work right
there, tom, yeah, yeah, that'sso cool.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Thank you.
Yeah, that's a big.
It's a mural that I did for theCity of East Orange, and that
mural is painted on what isessentially an empty building, a
kind of an abandoned buildingthere, but it was sponsored by
the city and organized by LindaStreet, who is an art impresario
(03:53):
here in East Orange where mystudio is.
She was really the person whoput that together and made it
happen, and it was painted by acrew of local artists.
I didn't actually paint itmyself.
I designed it for the space,gave employment to local artists
(04:13):
who painted it professionalmuralists and so it was kind of
a community project that we alldid together.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
And it's based on one of your most famous pieces, the
Boogie Woogie.
Is that what it's a that you'vedone.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
That's correct.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Yeah, and it's a beautiful piece, it's one of
your probably well-known ones.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
That's correct.
The original sculpture wallpiece is in the show at the
Montclair Art Museum.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Great, so we could see that in person.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Yeah, I'm curious to know if we take you back in time
, because we like to get theorigin story of our guests here
about where you grew up and howyou evolved, got yourself to New
Jersey.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
I was born in Philadelphia but my family moved
to Minneapolis, minnesota, whenI was very young, and so I
really grew up in Minnesota andI grew up in a family where kind
of creativity was reallyappreciated and we all in our
family made things together.
(05:16):
Often I painted little soldierswith my brother and we did lots
of craft projects and doingleather tooling and bead weaving
and macrame and all kinds oflittle things.
My dad had a workshop in thebasement with a workbench and
(05:39):
lots of tools and he showed mehow to use tools, and so it was
just something that we all didall kind of well, me especially,
but all the time it was just anactivity to go down in the
basement and make things.
And so in the museum show thereare some things that I made
when I was 10 and 11 and 12years old that somehow survived,
(06:03):
and they are little toys andinventions that I made when I
was a kid.
So actually the earliest piecein the show is from 1963, when I
was 10 years old.
Interestingly, 60 years later,my artwork is still very related
to those things that I madewhen I was a child.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Well, even behind you , looking at the person with the
crown bent over, like he's ator she is at a workshop and is
making something, is that atrain?
Yeah, oh, that's so cool.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
There is a train in there, yeah, there are vehicles
driving through and there's alandscape and there's a tow
truck and boats and a guyfishing.
You know, in Minnesota Fishingis kind of one of the main
activities, both in the summerand the winter, so as a kid I
would go fishing a lot.
(06:55):
So there are autobiographicalelements in this new work and
they do run all through the workin the show.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
It feels like, because I'm staring so intently
at it behind you, the metalworkpiece.
But if you dropped a ball onthe top, if we animated it, it
would just go through all thedifferent circles and the tubes
and come out here and then goback there.
I don't remember what thosegames are.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
That's a great idea.
Actually.
I have done some animations.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
I saw on your website you have a video animation
where you've got someone rowinga boat and then, as they're
rowing, they go to a big headappears on the water, which is
the Listening man sculpture thatyou've done many different
sculptures of it.
I find it interesting that allof your work seems to have this
kind of journey.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Like I said, I've been working continuously since
I was a kid.
Over the years my work haschanged a lot and I explore
different materials and ways ofworking and then I get hungry to
try new things and trydifferent forms.
But the exhibition is aretrospective and it starts with
(08:04):
pieces that I made in the 60sand then it goes kind of decade
by decade through thesedifferent phases of my work.
That is very figurative andit's very much about
psychological states of mind andhow figures relate to each
other and how we think aboutconsciousness and
(08:25):
unconsciousness, how theserelationships that people have
with each other and with animalsand their metaphors for
feelings and that kind of thingand families, and so that
animation falls into thatcategory of that work.
The figure starts out in liferowing a boat and comes across
(08:45):
this obstacle and it turns outthe obstacle is this large
representation really of himself, and so he climbs into the ear,
which represents what it feelslike to be listened to, and then
he's kind of transformed and heemerges as a bird and he flies
off and he comes back and comesthrough the mouth and that is an
(09:07):
idea of what it feels like tospeak and to use your voice to
express yourself and hereemerges as himself and gets
back in his boat.
But now that he's got on thislittle journey of self-discovery
, instead of rowing he's sailingoff into the future.
So the whole thing is ametaphor for the process of
(09:29):
self-exploration and what youlearn as you get older.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
When you were a kid and I'm sure you found that you
were artistic did you go to theart school route?
Did you do it the traditionalway?
Speaker 3 (09:42):
I have not followed a traditional path, that you know
.
I did not decide to go to artschool and I did not get a
degree in art making.
I did go to school and I havebeen making things continuously.
I think the engagement aroundthese psychological ideas are
(10:05):
personal issues that I've beeninterested in in my own growth
as a person and trying toexpress that and I was raising
my children and thinking aboutwhat it means to be a father to
both my son and my daughter,thinking about how important my
father was to me and my parentsand how families work, trying to
(10:29):
be a good parent and sort ofexpress those ideas.
It's just the journey of lifethat I think a lot of people
take and I'm digging around andtrying to sort it out.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Do you pre-plan what you're going to sit down to make
or stand up to make or, likeduring those times when you're
exploring something aboutyourself, do you just show up
into your studio and see whathappens?
Speaker 3 (10:58):
So there are two kind of major parts of my work and
there's the work that I do inthe studio, which is work that's
all completely for me and partof my expression as an artist,
of my personal expression, and Ialso do public work.
And so the public work that Ido is pretty carefully planned,
(11:23):
and it has to be, because whenyou're doing artwork in public
places you're working with abudget, you're working with a
group of clients and thecreative exploration is in the
planning of the work and thenonce that's done, that work gets
fabricated according to theplan.
So at that point I'm just kindof making a blueprint.
(11:45):
Often there are otherfabricators building the work,
and the work that I do in thestudio for myself and in my
practice is very improvisational.
I kind of know where I'm going,but I don't know how I'm going
to get there.
I just am making it up as I goalong.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
But I do know that you came to New York City and
worked with some artists thatprobably influenced you.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Can you give us that journey from coming to New York
City to working with them andhow your career progressed from
that art classes and we moved toNew York in 1980.
(12:31):
My wife at that time and myselfworked for other artists and we
lived in Tribeca and we bothworked as assistants for more
established artists and reallylearned from them what it means
to be a professional artist andhow you organize your life and
(12:53):
your work and how you marketyour work.
And it was through thoseartists who were very generous
with their time and knowledge ofthe art world who helped me get
connected to galleries andother artists in the New York
City art world.
(13:14):
They were paying us to maketheir artwork but very quickly I
got into making my own workfull-time and got gallery
representation in order to selland market my own work.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
I think a lot of people don't realize that some
of these big artists orwell-known artists have a team
of people who are artists thathelp them realize the work you
know really they're building orthey're painting or they're
constructing all under thedirector of the main artist.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Yeah, Well, it's a long tradition in the history of
art.
It's a long tradition to dothat.
And you can you look at theRenaissance artists.
You know, just to pick anexample, they did have teams.
That I mostly work alone andI'm kind of happy that way.
But of course, when I do mypublic work especially, I could
(14:10):
not do those projects without ateam of people who are experts
in their different areas.
You know, I have to have anengineer, fabricators and
somebody who has a crane.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
The public installments are incredibly
impressive, so can you tell usthen, how did you end up
becoming a famous New Jerseyartist?
Speaker 3 (14:36):
I don't know, am I famous yet?
I guess, if you guys, I guessI'm on your show.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
You are, you've made it.
This is the peak.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
We lived in New York for 15 years and then we came to
New Jersey when our childrenwere young and we wanted to be
in a more bucolic setting.
We didn't want to be in thiscity any longer and we came to
Montclair because, well, in partbecause the museum is there and
(15:04):
there's a great community ofartists in Montclair also and
all of the surrounding townsalso, and all of the surrounding
towns there's a funny storywhich is, you know, new York
City is very much considered thecenter of the art world and
worldwide.
And when we first came to NewJersey I was kind of wondering
you know, I'm over here and NewYork is over there.
(15:24):
And I actually went to theThomas Edison Museum right here
in West Orange and Thomas Edison, for better or worse, he had
this amazing inventions factoryright here and he was creating
and making things and pardon thepun.
(15:45):
But the light bulb went off andin my head I was like, well, if
he could do that here, I can dowhatever I want here.
It was kind of a moment for meto make me realize I'm very
happy here and through multiplestate programs and Arts for
Transit, you know, an artistcannot survive without the
(16:06):
support of a community and NewJersey has been really wonderful
for me in supporting my workand all the different aspects of
it.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Where is your studio now?
Speaker 3 (16:17):
I'm here in East Orange.
It's called Manufacturer'sVillage.
It's a Victorian complex offactory buildings.
Originally it was the originalhome of Johnson Johnson and
before there was Johnson Seaburyand they made medical supplies
here in the late 1800s into theearly 1900s.
(16:39):
And then I came into thisbuilding about 18 years ago and
brought a bunch of my friendsand we've been slowly populating
the building with artists.
Mona Brody, she and I had had astudio in the building on the on
the parkway.
(16:59):
She came here first and shecalled me up and she said Tom,
you got to come over, you got tosee this place, and so we
started with a few artists hereand now we have about 60.
We do have an open studio eventtwice a year, in October and in
April, when all the artistsopen their doors and the public
(17:21):
is welcome to come.
Upcoming open studio is thisOctober 18th and 19th.
The address is 356 GlenwoodAvenue and that's in East Orange
.
All the artists open theirdoors and I do too, and you can
come and visit my so great.
We usually have a food truckand we try to do a charity
fundraiser and we do projectswith the community and happy to
(17:45):
be here in East Orange.
The city is very gracious toour presence here.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Well, I'll definitely go to that, and everyone needs
to go to the Montclair ArtMuseum to see your exhibit open
up on September the 13th.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
It runs through January 4th and that show is a
comprehensive retrospective ofmy work.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Are you doing less color?
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
You're doing less color now.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Yeah, this piece is not.
These are the colors that it'sgoing to be.
Oh, okay, so it's kind of white, so that yeah, a lot of my work
is, as you know, is verycolorful, but I also do
monochromatic work, which meansthat it's one or two colors, and
that's what this piece is, so Ican give you a detailed shot
(18:31):
here.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Oh, wow, oh, that's so amazing.
There's a story on every littlespoke.
It's so intricate.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
How long does it take you to do a piece like that
from start to finish?
Speaker 3 (18:45):
I've been working on this for five months.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Yeah.
It looks like it takes a lot ofwork.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
And is it made of steel and welding?
Speaker 3 (18:55):
It is.
Yeah, this whole thing is madeof welded steel, and when I
start I make the patterns out ofpaper.
So this is the pile of patterns.
So I do the whole composition inpaper on the wall first.
I do the whole composition inpaper on the wall first, and
then I take those patterns and Ibring them over to my work area
where I cut, I use the patterns, I draw them on steel, I cut
(19:19):
them all out and I weld them inmy workshop.
Wow, yeah, I build sections ofthe artwork and so it all.
It's too big to move, so it allcomes down into different
sections and it breaks, built apiece that she could not get out
of her studio door.
But you can see here these arethe colors that I use when I'm
(19:55):
painting the other work.
I have a whole palette ofcolors that I've mixed that I go
to when I'm painting work incolor.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
So you pre-mix the colors.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
I do, yeah, and that's the way I learned to
paint.
And, you know, every artist hasa different technique, and this
is the technique that I learned, actually from that very same
artist, susan Pitt, that I wasjust talking about.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Yeah, it's so cool to see your studio and how many
tools and brushes and paintcolors.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
And I love it so much , a light fixture that I made.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Oh, you made that.
I love that.
Wait go back.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
That's right, you know.
I read on your bio that you hadstarted out creating these type
of light fixtures and alsothings sold in the museum gift
shops.
Is that still something thatyou do?
Speaker 3 (20:50):
I don't anymore.
In the 80s into the 90s I hadcottage industries making light
fixtures and hat and coat racksand it was a way of helping
support the growing family.
You know, when the kids wereyoung they needed someplace to
hang their coats.
When they came in the door Imade an iron snake with pegs on
(21:13):
it and they were like, oh, wehave a special place and now
they hung their coats up and itwas.
You know, it was kind ofeffective.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
We're all in trouble as parents now because we can't
do that and it's not fun to hangup your coat.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
Is there anything going to be in the gift shops at
the museum that you have forsale?
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Yes, Congratulations for this upcoming exhibit.
It's pretty incredible andwe'll put links to it in the
show notes.
We'll promote it as well.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
My work especially is sculpture, so it's
three-dimensional and you sharethe space with the work, and so
I really encourage you to seethe work in person.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Well, thank you so much for joining us on Lost in
Jersey.
It's been a pleasure to get tohear your story and we're
excited to see your work inperson.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
I don't think it's up yet, but as part of the show
you'll be able to go to the mapand see my projects that are all
over the state.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
What is that?
What is those games Like?
Speaker 3 (22:08):
where's Waldo, where's Waldo, where's.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Tom, where's Tom's work?
Well, thank you so much forsharing that.
Thank you for making New Jerseymore beautiful than it already
is.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
Thank you.
Yeah, thank you very much.
It's been a fun interview.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
This podcast was produced by Rachel Martens and
Jeanette Afsharian.
You can find us on Spotify,itunes and Buzzsprout.
Thanks for listening.
See you next week.
Hi Rachel, hey Danette, we just got off a
wonderful interview with theartist Tom Nussbaum.
He has a retrospective comingup at the Montclair Art Museum
on September 13th is the openingand everybody has to go.
He is a sculptor and he is amaker of things.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
He has a few pieces that if you see them you'll know
that you've seen them before,and it has to be seen in person.
All these very whimsical, funpieces.
I think that you would love totake your kids to it too,
because I think they would enjoyseeing all the colorful pieces
that he makes.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
And we talk about all of this in the interview about
his decades of work that he'sgoing to show at the museum Just
get a little peek behind thescenes of an artist who grew up
in a creative family and just itwas always a part of his life,
making art.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Yeah, and he didn't go to art school, which I love
because you know they didn't goto art school, you don't?
Speaker 1 (00:57):
always have to go to school for the thing you end up
doing in your life people,that's right Tune in to this
great interview, but also pleasesubscribe.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Please subscribe to our channel.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
We are growing, share it with people Check out our
YouTube channel especially forthis one.
Check out your YouTube channelbecause you can see his almost
finished work that will be atthe museum behind him as he's
talking, and he also gives us alittle tour of his studio, which
is so cool.
That's right, enjoy.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Tom, thank you so much for joining us on Lost in
Jersey.
It's nice to meet you.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Well, thanks for having me.
I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
We were excited to get an email from Ira of the
Montclair Art Museum about yournew exhibit that's coming up.
I believe it's going to beinstalled in September.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Yeah, actually it opens to the public on the 13th
oh great.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I've delivered a few hundred pieces already to the
museum and I have three moreleft to deliver.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Wow, when you walk through the space and discuss
the exhibit with your curator,do you have feelings of where
things should go?
Speaker 3 (02:04):
Yeah, we've been working on this show for go.
Yeah, it's been.
We've been working on this showfor about.
Well, we started talking aboutit two years ago and I would say
the first year and a half wasfinding the work, deciding which
work was going to be included,finding if it was available, and
then, once that was decided,then the curator has a small
(02:28):
architectural model of thegalleries.
What they did was they madelittle miniature versions of
every single piece to scale thatfit in the model and then they
hung the show in the model.
So every piece kind of had ahome in the galleries in
miniature and that's really theguide that they used for
(02:51):
installing the show.
Then the exhibition designercomes in and helps design and
kind of finalize the positionsof the pieces and how they're
going to go.
So it's an involved process anda very thoughtful process.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
No idea there was so much involved.
Yeah, we want to get into yourbackground, but first we want to
note that Rachel and I were.
We were on a trip down to theIndie Film Festival this last
week and we were on, I believeit was, the Garden State Parkway
.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Yeah, it was the Garden State.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
And we're like, oh my God, there's Tom's work right
there, tom, yeah, yeah, that'sso cool.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Thank you.
Yeah, that's a big.
It's a mural that I did for theCity of East Orange, and that
mural is painted on what isessentially an empty building, a
kind of an abandoned buildingthere, but it was sponsored by
the city and organized by LindaStreet, who is an art impresario
(03:53):
here in East Orange where mystudio is.
She was really the person whoput that together and made it
happen, and it was painted by acrew of local artists.
I didn't actually paint itmyself.
I designed it for the space,gave employment to local artists
(04:13):
who painted it professionalmuralists and so it was kind of
a community project that we alldid together.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
And it's based on one of your most famous pieces, the
Boogie Woogie.
Is that what it's a that you'vedone.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
That's correct.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Yeah, and it's a beautiful piece, it's one of
your probably well-known ones.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
That's correct.
The original sculpture wallpiece is in the show at the
Montclair Art Museum.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Great, so we could see that in person.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Yeah, I'm curious to know if we take you back in time
, because we like to get theorigin story of our guests here
about where you grew up and howyou evolved, got yourself to New
Jersey.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
I was born in Philadelphia but my family moved
to Minneapolis, minnesota, whenI was very young, and so I
really grew up in Minnesota andI grew up in a family where kind
of creativity was reallyappreciated and we all in our
family made things together.
(05:16):
Often I painted little soldierswith my brother and we did lots
of craft projects and doingleather tooling and bead weaving
and macrame and all kinds oflittle things.
My dad had a workshop in thebasement with a workbench and
(05:39):
lots of tools and he showed mehow to use tools, and so it was
just something that we all didall kind of well, me especially,
but all the time it was just anactivity to go down in the
basement and make things.
And so in the museum show thereare some things that I made
when I was 10 and 11 and 12years old that somehow survived,
(06:03):
and they are little toys andinventions that I made when I
was a kid.
So actually the earliest piecein the show is from 1963, when I
was 10 years old.
Interestingly, 60 years later,my artwork is still very related
to those things that I madewhen I was a child.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Well, even behind you , looking at the person with the
crown bent over, like he's ator she is at a workshop and is
making something, is that atrain?
Yeah, oh, that's so cool.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
There is a train in there, yeah, there are vehicles
driving through and there's alandscape and there's a tow
truck and boats and a guyfishing.
You know, in Minnesota Fishingis kind of one of the main
activities, both in the summerand the winter, so as a kid I
would go fishing a lot.
(06:55):
So there are autobiographicalelements in this new work and
they do run all through the workin the show.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
It feels like, because I'm staring so intently
at it behind you, the metalworkpiece.
But if you dropped a ball onthe top, if we animated it, it
would just go through all thedifferent circles and the tubes
and come out here and then goback there.
I don't remember what thosegames are.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
That's a great idea.
Actually.
I have done some animations.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
I saw on your website you have a video animation
where you've got someone rowinga boat and then, as they're
rowing, they go to a big headappears on the water, which is
the Listening man sculpture thatyou've done many different
sculptures of it.
I find it interesting that allof your work seems to have this
kind of journey.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Like I said, I've been working continuously since
I was a kid.
Over the years my work haschanged a lot and I explore
different materials and ways ofworking and then I get hungry to
try new things and trydifferent forms.
But the exhibition is aretrospective and it starts with
(08:04):
pieces that I made in the 60sand then it goes kind of decade
by decade through thesedifferent phases of my work.
That is very figurative andit's very much about
psychological states of mind andhow figures relate to each
other and how we think aboutconsciousness and
(08:25):
unconsciousness, how theserelationships that people have
with each other and with animalsand their metaphors for
feelings and that kind of thingand families, and so that
animation falls into thatcategory of that work.
The figure starts out in liferowing a boat and comes across
(08:45):
this obstacle and it turns outthe obstacle is this large
representation really of himself, and so he climbs into the ear,
which represents what it feelslike to be listened to, and then
he's kind of transformed and heemerges as a bird and he flies
off and he comes back and comesthrough the mouth and that is an
(09:07):
idea of what it feels like tospeak and to use your voice to
express yourself and hereemerges as himself and gets
back in his boat.
But now that he's got on thislittle journey of self-discovery
, instead of rowing he's sailingoff into the future.
So the whole thing is ametaphor for the process of
(09:29):
self-exploration and what youlearn as you get older.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
When you were a kid and I'm sure you found that you
were artistic did you go to theart school route?
Did you do it the traditionalway?
Speaker 3 (09:42):
I have not followed a traditional path, that you know
.
I did not decide to go to artschool and I did not get a
degree in art making.
I did go to school and I havebeen making things continuously.
I think the engagement aroundthese psychological ideas are
(10:05):
personal issues that I've beeninterested in in my own growth
as a person and trying toexpress that and I was raising
my children and thinking aboutwhat it means to be a father to
both my son and my daughter,thinking about how important my
father was to me and my parentsand how families work, trying to
(10:29):
be a good parent and sort ofexpress those ideas.
It's just the journey of lifethat I think a lot of people
take and I'm digging around andtrying to sort it out.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Do you pre-plan what you're going to sit down to make
or stand up to make or, likeduring those times when you're
exploring something aboutyourself, do you just show up
into your studio and see whathappens?
Speaker 3 (10:58):
So there are two kind of major parts of my work and
there's the work that I do inthe studio, which is work that's
all completely for me and partof my expression as an artist,
of my personal expression, and Ialso do public work.
And so the public work that Ido is pretty carefully planned,
(11:23):
and it has to be, because whenyou're doing artwork in public
places you're working with abudget, you're working with a
group of clients and thecreative exploration is in the
planning of the work and thenonce that's done, that work gets
fabricated according to theplan.
So at that point I'm just kindof making a blueprint.
(11:45):
Often there are otherfabricators building the work,
and the work that I do in thestudio for myself and in my
practice is very improvisational.
I kind of know where I'm going,but I don't know how I'm going
to get there.
I just am making it up as I goalong.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
But I do know that you came to New York City and
worked with some artists thatprobably influenced you.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Can you give us that journey from coming to New York
City to working with them andhow your career progressed from
that art classes and we moved toNew York in 1980.
(12:31):
My wife at that time and myselfworked for other artists and we
lived in Tribeca and we bothworked as assistants for more
established artists and reallylearned from them what it means
to be a professional artist andhow you organize your life and
(12:53):
your work and how you marketyour work.
And it was through thoseartists who were very generous
with their time and knowledge ofthe art world who helped me get
connected to galleries andother artists in the New York
City art world.
(13:14):
They were paying us to maketheir artwork but very quickly I
got into making my own workfull-time and got gallery
representation in order to selland market my own work.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
I think a lot of people don't realize that some
of these big artists orwell-known artists have a team
of people who are artists thathelp them realize the work you
know really they're building orthey're painting or they're
constructing all under thedirector of the main artist.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Yeah, Well, it's a long tradition in the history of
art.
It's a long tradition to dothat.
And you can you look at theRenaissance artists.
You know, just to pick anexample, they did have teams.
That I mostly work alone andI'm kind of happy that way.
But of course, when I do mypublic work especially, I could
(14:10):
not do those projects without ateam of people who are experts
in their different areas.
You know, I have to have anengineer, fabricators and
somebody who has a crane.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
The public installments are incredibly
impressive, so can you tell usthen, how did you end up
becoming a famous New Jerseyartist?
Speaker 3 (14:36):
I don't know, am I famous yet?
I guess, if you guys, I guessI'm on your show.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
You are, you've made it.
This is the peak.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
We lived in New York for 15 years and then we came to
New Jersey when our childrenwere young and we wanted to be
in a more bucolic setting.
We didn't want to be in thiscity any longer and we came to
Montclair because, well, in partbecause the museum is there and
(15:04):
there's a great community ofartists in Montclair also and
all of the surrounding townsalso, and all of the surrounding
towns there's a funny storywhich is, you know, new York
City is very much considered thecenter of the art world and
worldwide.
And when we first came to NewJersey I was kind of wondering
you know, I'm over here and NewYork is over there.
(15:24):
And I actually went to theThomas Edison Museum right here
in West Orange and Thomas Edison, for better or worse, he had
this amazing inventions factoryright here and he was creating
and making things and pardon thepun.
(15:45):
But the light bulb went off andin my head I was like, well, if
he could do that here, I can dowhatever I want here.
It was kind of a moment for meto make me realize I'm very
happy here and through multiplestate programs and Arts for
Transit, you know, an artistcannot survive without the
(16:06):
support of a community and NewJersey has been really wonderful
for me in supporting my workand all the different aspects of
it.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Where is your studio now?
Speaker 3 (16:17):
I'm here in East Orange.
It's called Manufacturer'sVillage.
It's a Victorian complex offactory buildings.
Originally it was the originalhome of Johnson Johnson and
before there was Johnson Seaburyand they made medical supplies
here in the late 1800s into theearly 1900s.
(16:39):
And then I came into thisbuilding about 18 years ago and
brought a bunch of my friendsand we've been slowly populating
the building with artists.
Mona Brody, she and I had had astudio in the building on the on
the parkway.
(16:59):
She came here first and shecalled me up and she said Tom,
you got to come over, you got tosee this place, and so we
started with a few artists hereand now we have about 60.
We do have an open studio eventtwice a year, in October and in
April, when all the artistsopen their doors and the public
(17:21):
is welcome to come.
Upcoming open studio is thisOctober 18th and 19th.
The address is 356 GlenwoodAvenue and that's in East Orange
.
All the artists open theirdoors and I do too, and you can
come and visit my so great.
We usually have a food truckand we try to do a charity
fundraiser and we do projectswith the community and happy to
(17:45):
be here in East Orange.
The city is very gracious toour presence here.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Well, I'll definitely go to that, and everyone needs
to go to the Montclair ArtMuseum to see your exhibit open
up on September the 13th.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
It runs through January 4th and that show is a
comprehensive retrospective ofmy work.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Are you doing less color?
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
You're doing less color now.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Yeah, this piece is not.
These are the colors that it'sgoing to be.
Oh, okay, so it's kind of white, so that yeah, a lot of my work
is, as you know, is verycolorful, but I also do
monochromatic work, which meansthat it's one or two colors, and
that's what this piece is, so Ican give you a detailed shot
(18:31):
here.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Oh, wow, oh, that's so amazing.
There's a story on every littlespoke.
It's so intricate.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
How long does it take you to do a piece like that
from start to finish?
Speaker 3 (18:45):
I've been working on this for five months.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Yeah.
It looks like it takes a lot ofwork.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
And is it made of steel and welding?
Speaker 3 (18:55):
It is.
Yeah, this whole thing is madeof welded steel, and when I
start I make the patterns out ofpaper.
So this is the pile of patterns.
So I do the whole composition inpaper on the wall first.
I do the whole composition inpaper on the wall first, and
then I take those patterns and Ibring them over to my work area
where I cut, I use the patterns, I draw them on steel, I cut
(19:19):
them all out and I weld them inmy workshop.
Wow, yeah, I build sections ofthe artwork and so it all.
It's too big to move, so it allcomes down into different
sections and it breaks, built apiece that she could not get out
of her studio door.
But you can see here these arethe colors that I use when I'm
(19:55):
painting the other work.
I have a whole palette ofcolors that I've mixed that I go
to when I'm painting work incolor.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
So you pre-mix the colors.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
I do, yeah, and that's the way I learned to
paint.
And, you know, every artist hasa different technique, and this
is the technique that I learned, actually from that very same
artist, susan Pitt, that I wasjust talking about.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Yeah, it's so cool to see your studio and how many
tools and brushes and paintcolors.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
And I love it so much , a light fixture that I made.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Oh, you made that.
I love that.
Wait go back.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
That's right, you know.
I read on your bio that you hadstarted out creating these type
of light fixtures and alsothings sold in the museum gift
shops.
Is that still something thatyou do?
Speaker 3 (20:50):
I don't anymore.
In the 80s into the 90s I hadcottage industries making light
fixtures and hat and coat racksand it was a way of helping
support the growing family.
You know, when the kids wereyoung they needed someplace to
hang their coats.
When they came in the door Imade an iron snake with pegs on
(21:13):
it and they were like, oh, wehave a special place and now
they hung their coats up and itwas.
You know, it was kind ofeffective.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
We're all in trouble as parents now because we can't
do that and it's not fun to hangup your coat.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
Is there anything going to be in the gift shops at
the museum that you have forsale?
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Yes, Congratulations for this upcoming exhibit.
It's pretty incredible andwe'll put links to it in the
show notes.
We'll promote it as well.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
My work especially is sculpture, so it's
three-dimensional and you sharethe space with the work, and so
I really encourage you to seethe work in person.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Well, thank you so much for joining us on Lost in
Jersey.
It's been a pleasure to get tohear your story and we're
excited to see your work inperson.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
I don't think it's up yet, but as part of the show
you'll be able to go to the mapand see my projects that are all
over the state.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
What is that?
What is those games Like?
Speaker 3 (22:08):
where's Waldo, where's Waldo, where's.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Tom, where's Tom's work?
Well, thank you so much forsharing that.
Thank you for making New Jerseymore beautiful than it already
is.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
Thank you.
Yeah, thank you very much.
It's been a fun interview.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
This podcast was produced by Rachel Martens and
Jeanette Afsharian.
You can find us on Spotify,itunes and Buzzsprout.
Thanks for listening.
See you next week.
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