SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Examining one’s sense of place and the many different ways a person can connect to their surroundings was the theme of the recent exhibition, “A Sense of Place: Kiki and Seton Smith,” in Seton Hall University’s Walsh Gallery. The titular artists, who are South Orange natives, discussed their work in a panel conversation at the university on Dec. 6.
The panel was moderated by Lynne Tillman, a novelist who also knows both Smith sisters personally. The exhibit was co-sponsored by the Walsh Gallery and the Pierro Foundation.
The show examines the question, “How does place irrevocably impact our sense of self?” Kiki Smith’s drawings and prints look to the natural world to understand the relationship between place and identity on a symbolic level. Seton Smith’s large-scale photographs look to the built environment to convey associations by moving within and navigating through space.
“This is a proud moment for the Walsh Gallery and Seton Hall University,” Walsh Gallery director Jeanne Brasile said at the panel event. “I would like to thank Kiki and Seton Smith for sharing their art with us.”
Judy Wukitsch, president of the Pierro Foundation, expressed similar sentiments in her opening remarks for the panel, and spoke about how the foundation’s first initiative was to bring to South Orange a sculpture by Tony Smith, the sisters’ father.
Instead of listing the many accomplishments of the two sisters, Wukitsch chose to highlight their unique background and upbringing, coupled with their varied artistic influences from growing up with their father, a world-renowned sculptor and mother, an opera singer.
Tillman opened the discussion with a question about the sisters’ relationship to their childhood home on Stanley Road in South Orange, a house that had been in the family for three generations and where their father was born.
“I wouldn’t say it was dark or haunted, but there was something very sinister about the house and its place has greatly influenced my work,” Seton Smith said. “Both my aunt and grandfather died in that house. My father had placed a mirror on one of the staircases and the illusion of seeing yourself walking downstairs influenced me my whole life.”
Though Kiki Smith did not view the house as “dark,” she said that it certainly sparked a great deal of curiosity in her about the items collected in it through the generations.
“I never thought of it as a sinister house, but it was certainly a very active house,” Kiki Smith said. “A lot of 19th-century artifacts from previous family members who lived there were left behind.”
But a house’s atmosphere is much influenced by those who live there. Tillman asked the sisters about their awareness as children of their parents as artists and how that influenced their growth.
“Our mother always said that ‘your work is your life, not getting married or having children,’” Seton Smith said.
Echoing her sister’s response, Kiki Smith said that for their mother, nothing mattered besides the art and nothing existed besides the art; there was little concern for anything else.
Tillman noted that, because of their mother’s unique viewpoint on life, the sisters were encouraged a great deal by their parents to pursue their artistic passions.
“I moved to Paris in 1985, met some German architects and also became fascinated with taking pictures of gardens. I only meant to stay in Paris for a few months and ended up staying 20 years. It’s enriched my life a lot to live in a different culture, and I still live there for half the year,” Seton Smith said. “While in Paris, I took pictures of chateaus, but not as precious things. When I returned to the United States, I became more intrigued with photographing the exterior of houses in black and white, and especially of dilapidated homes in impoverished neighborhoods. It was the idea that houses are these symbols of stability, but they can also hide many bad things, and I think the photos are very emotionally charged.”
Tillman noted that Kiki Smith’s work carries many religious overtones and questioned the role that religion and spirituality played in the Smith household.
“Our family was very active in the founding of Our Lady of Sorrows Church and, though our mother was Episcopalian, she converted to Catholicism when she married our father. She later practiced Buddhism and Hinduism,” Kiki Smith said. “My father’s work is abstract but also very monolithic and singular. For me, the Catholic church was filled with objects that held symbolic meanings, whereas other Christian denominations have a more social or community model.”
Just as their mother encouraged them not to be afraid to explore unfamiliar territories, the Smith sisters both credit their father with the idea of trying more than one material or art medium.
“In the 1970s, the material was the message. Making something out of rock as opposed to paper had drastically different meanings and (ways) people related to them over time,” Kiki Smith said.
“Our father always taught us to not be afraid of the materials and to take ownership of them, and I think that’s one of the greatest gifts he gave us,” Seton Smith said.
The evening concluded with questions from audience members, some who remembered the Smith sisters from their formative years in South Orange and others who are admirers of their work.
In addition to the pieces by the Smith sisters that were shown at the Walsh Gallery from Oct. 30 through Dec. 6, the Pierro Foundation also reached out to the community to request art that explores the theme of place, and many art students from Columbia High School answered the call.
One of those students was senior Emily Glynn, who said that when she heard the theme of the exhibit, she had no hesitation about her inspiration for the art.
“I did a self-portrait and the background was the red rocks of Arizona, which is where I went on a spring break trip last school year,” she said. “I got a lot of inspiration from the natural textures and colors. When we were given the opportunity to think of a place that we liked or connected to that was what I immediately thought of.”
Fellow senior AP art student Luz Aguba chose a place very close to home for her submission: her bedroom. Aguba used carpet fibers from her room to create a visual and textile representation of the space, and said she used this material to showcase her sewing skills; she plans to major in fashion design in school next year.
“The artwork was supposed to show my room over three stages of life because it’s where I created my artwork and experienced many life events, so I chose it as the place that symbolizes me as an artist,” Aguba said. “A lot of my art evolves around my personal feelings and my life and it was interesting to see how everyone else interpreted the assignment. You can see how everyone has their own place and how everyone has their own style.”
Photos by Shanee Frazier and Ellen Weisbord