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Doo Wop Glows at Wildwoods Convention Center

Attendees of meetings and events can see an innovative piece of luminous art in Wildwood, a New Jersey Shore destination. The Wildwoods Convention Center recently unveiled “Doo Wop, a light sculpture installed in its glass tower, one of the most recognizable features of the facility.

“The tower above the Convention Center’s main entrance was supposed to be a signature piece of the building,” says John Siciliano, Executive Director of the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority. “The light sculpture is going to take that tower and make it stand out as the focal point of the building.”

The glimmering piece was created by Chris Freeman, of Chris Freeman Designs, Inc. Based in Brick Township, New Jersey, Freeman is an artist who works in the illumination medium. The sculpture utilizes vibrant colors and fantastic shapes that echo the Wildwoods’ “Doo Wop” architecture.

This New Jersey Shore Town is home to the largest concentration of preserved mid-20th century Doo Wop architecture in the country. The style, which emerged in the years immediately following World War II, reflects the optimistic and forward looking attitudes of the 1950s & 1960s, Its motifs include: automobiles with fins, plastic palm trees, kidney shaped pools, angular roof lines and bold neon signs. The name itself is taken from the a distinctive, vocal-based sub-genre of Rock & Roll that is reminiscent of Summer and being down the shore. The style has been compared to the Art Deco look so identifiable with Miami's South Beach.

“The tower light sculpture, called ‘Doo Wop,’ utilizes playful and colorful shapes that cascade down all four sides of the glass tower above the Wildwoods Convention Center,” said Chris Freeman. “The sculpture is meant to give the viewer, whether young or old, a sense of playfulness in the evening with the glass tower lit up as a precious jewel.”

When asked to describe the sculpture in three words, Freeman said: “surprising, refreshing and musical.”

Chris Freeman has been working on this project since 2007. After receiving final approval for his “Doo Wop” sculpture, by the NJ State Council for the Arts and the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority, Freeman first designed the work on paper, followed by creating layouts to produce custom bent luminous tubes for the sculpture. Each luminous tube was individually hand-bent into shapes from the drafted layouts. The tubes were then put through a vacuum process, where various gases, depending on glass type and color, were deposited into the tube to produce the final custom shape and colored luminous tube. After finishing work on the tubes, Freeman began installation of the sculpture at the Convention Center, which took a total of four weeks to complete.

“The final sculpture consists of approximately seventy five 15mm and 18mm luminous tubes,” explained Freeman. “These tubes consist of phosphor-coated glass as well as Italian colored glass, hand-pulled on the Island of Murano in Italy.”

Doo Wop is the light sculpture encompassed by the distinctive tower of the Wildwoods Convention Center in Wildwood, New Jersey. It is actually phase II of an ongoing, state-funded art project. Phase I are the oval sculptures on the building’s façade. Phase III, due to be completed later in 2010, will include light sculpture on the railings leading up to the venue.

The sculpture is named “Doo Wop,” and was primarily inspired by this N.J. Beach-centric design style and the more innocent era it invokes. “I was greatly inspired and intrigued by the revival of the Doo Wop era style and its' architectural motifs in the Wildwoods,” says Freeman. “The ‘Doo Wop’ sculpture was designed to conjure up feelings of play and intrigue for pedestrians as they approach the Wildwoods Convention Center with the tower lit while enjoying an evening strolling on the Wildwoods Boardwalk or attending an event inside the building.”

The Wildwoods Convention Center’s new light sculpture is Phase II of III of the venue’s arts package and is a part of the State of New Jersey’s “Arts Inclusion Program.” Passed in 1978, the program has led to the commissioning and installation of hundreds of works of art in state-financed construction projects.

The sculpture marks the beginning of Phase II of the Convention Center’s arts package. the during the building’s initial construction. Phase I of the project consists of eight circular portals with neon-lit W’s spanning the Convention Center’s facade, designed by Keith Sonnier. Phase III is expected to feature Doo Wop-style sculptures along the railings that lead up to venue. The tentative completion date for Phase III is November 2010.

“Phase II has been an off and on process,” explained. “The money has been there for the project since the beginning, but we wanted to complete the construction process of the building before focusing on the arts package.”

The Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority was formed in 1993 to consolidate the tourism economy of its three founding municipalities: Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and North Wildwood. The Wildwoods Convention Center is located on the historic 38-block Wildwoods Boardwalk, the longest in the United States. The multi-purpose facility overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and features 86,700 square feet of unobstructed exhibit space, 95,000 square feet of meeting space along with 15 breakout rooms, and 23,440 square feet of lobby/pre-function space. In addition, the venue includes the 7,000-seat Oceanfront Arena at the Wildwoods Convention Center.

That world-famous troubadour of the New Jersey shore once sang about being “Blinded by the Light.” Wildwood visitors will not be blinded by this innovative artwork, but it has added to the distinctiveness of this venue. “Freeman is extremely talented, and his work of art will surely become a focal point for the Convention Center, and the Wildwoods as a whole,” added Siciliano.

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