Local 1 New York Members Build Towers of Midtown Manhattan

Standing in front of LeWitt’s Curved Wall with Towers, from left, are Local 1 NY Field Representative Nunzio Mazzarone, Local 1 President Sid Lanzafame, and Rad & D’Aprile, Inc. owner Andrew Feldman.

Two new sculptures, designed by artist Sol LeWitt and constructed by members of Local 1 New York, now stand in midtown Manhattan’s historic Madison Square Park. The two sculptures entitled the Circle of Towers and Curved Wall with Towers, are part of an exhibition hosted by Mad. Sq. Art 2005, which debuted on May 1, 2005 and is scheduled to run through the end of the year.

Circle of Towers, located at the park’s southern end, is a three-foot high concrete block ring, 25 feet in diameter and punctuated by eight 14-foot high towers at equal intervals. On the east side of the park stands the larger sculpture titled Curved Wall with Towers. This concrete block sculpture runs 85 feet long and also consists of a three-foot high base wall and 14-foot towers at equal intervals. Aside from size, another key difference between the sculptures is that the face of the concrete block on the Curved Wall has been sandblasted and bleached.

Local 1 NY President Sid Lanzafame stands in front of LeWitt’s Circle with Towers.

Seven Local 1 NY bricklayers employed by Rad & D’Aprile, Inc., and working under the supervision of foreman Patrick Stelmach, spent six weeks preparing the sculptures for their exhibition debut. Over 1,000 work-hours were accumulated on the project.

“Meeting deadlines and matching the details with the artist’s exact specifications placed many demands on the members,” says Local 1 President Sid Lanzafame.“ And to their credit, they met each head-on and produced two beautiful sculptures. I couldn’t be more proud of the efforts put forth by our members.”