Symbolizing love, a heart is universally understood to represent the affection one might feel for a loved one. No words are needed, just a heart (usually in red).
Haddonfield’s heart sculpture by M.L. Duffy also needs no words to convey love. “Low-Poly Open Heart,” located in Kings Court, is a three-dimensional welded diamond laser-cut aluminum sculpture that stands five feet tall, five feet wide and two and one-half feet deep. “The heart has become the symbolic center of Haddonfield; when you drive through or walk along Kings Highway, you know you have arrived,” Joe Sikora, the president of Haddonfield Outdoor Sculpture Trust’s executive committee and of Sikora Wells Appel, a Haddonfield landscape architecture firm.
Duffy explained that his inspiration for this sculpture came while his wife, Lizzie, was on a trip to Japan. “Missing her while she was away and my deep affection for her led me to a common heart shape/form. I wanted to make a low-poly heart for her by the time she got back from her trip,” he said. Things didn’t go exactly as planned as the sculpture went through several iterations.
“My art practice is project-based,” Duffy explained. “As new ideas and interests come to the fore, I am able to focus, explore, and refine without having to be tied down to an artistic movement, aesthetic, or theme. ”This approach offers him intellectual and artistic freedom. An exploratory attitude ultimately led him to create the ”Low-Poly Open Heart” sculpture. “I was messing around with some new computer programs that use advanced algorithms to manipulate three-dimensional models,” he shared. ”One of the algorithms takes a 3-D object and reconstructs it using only triangular planes. This low-polygon form was something I was already exploring in drawing and painting, so I was quite interested in converting this aesthetic to sculpture (where I am much more comfortable as an artist).”
“The heart has become the symbolic center of Haddonfield.” says Joe Sikora, president of Haddonfield Outdoor Sculpture Trust’s executive committee. “When you drive through or walk along Kings Highway, you know you have arrived.”
The heart is one of the first sculptures with color in Haddonfield, he noted. “To keep the idea of a rough, tough sculpture I used tractor paint, which, ironically has not held up well over the years,” he said, adding that he’s been back to Haddonfield several times to repaint and clean the heart.
Duffy’s sculpture, installed in March 2018, is the site of Haddonfield’s annual Valentine’s Day vow renewal. “We advertise it starting in January and have a cut off when we reach 50 couples as we have during the last few years,”Stuart Harding, the founder and chair of the Haddonfield Outdoor Sculpture Trust (HOST), explained. “Each couple is read their vows by a commissioner and receives roses, cookies, and chocolates.”
Duffy said Harting was “instrumental in making Haddonfield a permanent home” for this beloved sculpture. On trips to Haddonfield to maintain the sculpture, Duffy is able to take in the beauty and distinctness of the downtown. “I have also enjoyed seeing the different events you all have done with the Heart, like the vow-renewal ceremony at Valentine’s Day,” he said. “Low-Poly Open Heart” is the perfect photo background for any occasion of love and affection for locals and visitors alike.
“I consider sculpture more challenging than the other art forms because the artist must consider all angles, all views, and how they affect the viewer (this says nothing of materials and scale!),” Duffy said.
Currently fabricating out of his in-laws’ barn in central Virginia, Duffy teaches art at a high school in Washington, D.C. Friends from Haddonfield brighten his day when they send photos of the heart sculpture. “That little random spark of joy is one of the reasons why I think sculpture in the public realm is important; it is democratic, available to anyone, and can foster some thought and contemplation beyond the daily grind,” he mused.
