Paul Zelazny was a Medford Leas resident for 12 years, from 1989 until his death in 2001 at the age of 90.
It was in 1995 that Paul began working on a cross-section of a maple tree which had a wedge-shaped split. He sanded, coated and polished it. Using the open split to make a stand, a work of art emerged. As Paul explained to Evert “Bart” Bartholomew, “I counted the age rings of this wood and found 84 of them. I am 84 years old, so this tree and I came alive at the same year. Its title “Born in 1911″ refers both to the art and the artist. The sculpture now stands in the Residents Gallery, across the hall from the doorway that leads to the Workshop.
When Paul and his wife Anna came to Medford Leas they brought with them a metal sculpture, The Three Graces, After it was painted by his friend Bart it was installed in Rushmore near Court 62. Paul chose orange for his Graces.
Over the years The Three Graces deteriorated, and so in 2009 it needed to be reconditioned. However the sculpture was not repainted to its original color. It is now polished metal and has been reinstalled near Court 62 in Rushmore.
The photograph below, taken in the Workshop during the reconditioning process, nicely shows the scale of The Three Graces.
In general, photographs fail to do justice to sculptures. Because Flame and Treble Clef now sit on tables outside the Theater, residents easily have an opportunity to study them from different angles.
The Wave is in the Nature Center.
Twisted Fate is a large wooden sculpture that stands in Unit 179, a two-bedroom model home on the Lumberton Campus. Its title fits Paul’s story.
Paul Zelazny was born in the village of Torun, Poland (the birthplace of Copernicus).
His father was a teacher. After he finished Gymnasium (high school), Paul determined to see the world and ran off to join the Polish Navy. He was still in the Polish Navy when the Germans took over Poland and what was left of the navy defected to England and continued the fight against fascism. During World War II he rose to Captain and became the commanding officer of a destroyer.
Following the war he chose not to return to Poland, which was then part of the Soviet Union. He shipped out with the Merchant Marine, sailing between the U.S. and Brazil. After meeting and marrying Anna, he joined a construction firm in Hackensack and quickly rose to supervisor. At the end of his career he was Project Manager for the company.
It was during his days working in the building industry that he began to create constructs such as Exercise in Tectonics, a 3-dimensional wall hanging that is mounted at the Johnson Free Public Library in Hackensack. During those years Paul studied at both the New School and the Sculpture Center in Manhattan and began to work in various media such as stone, metal and marble and especially in wood.
The following sculptures are no longer at Medford Leas:
Medusa’s Head was fashioned from the roots of a magnolia tree that was removed from Court 10. The tangle of roots was carved to resemble snakes. Perhaps the remnants of this sculpture are still on the Medford Leas grounds in the area of farm, but if so they are yet to be identified.
Several of Paul’s smaller sculptures were willed to benefit the Thrift Shop. An exhibit and auction were held. Medford Leas purchased some of the art for permanent display. Jane Bourquin purchased Balancing Act as a gift for a friend. Infinity II was also sold at that time, as were several more for which we do not have photographs.
Compiled by Maggie Heineman, November 2009. This article makes use of prior writings by Helen Vukasin and Bart Bartholomew. The 2009 photographs were taken by Mike Carrell (Flame Trebel Clef, Strata, The Wave), Barbara Degler (Flame 1, Twisted Fate), and Herb Minkus (Rehab of Three Graces). Photographers of the earlier photos are not identified.