VALDOSTA — Pablo Picasso once said that he paints objects as he thinks them, not as he sees them. That’s what former Valdosta State University president Dr. Ronald M. Zaccari does. He creates what his mind conjures as an interpretation of things that are seemingly uninterpretable and singularly defined to many.

At 9:30 a.m. Monday at the Jerry and Kay Jennett Lecture Hall, Zaccari began the installation of his newest piece of art commissioned by the Jennetts. Titled “Woman with a Multi-colored Hat” and consisting of half a ton of stainless steel and aluminum, the 13-foot by eight-foot sculpture is nothing short of spectacular.

“It’s a theme of multiple profiles,” said Zaccari.

Multi-dimensional profiles was something that Picasso extensively explored in his art and something Zaccari has always admired.

“People know I’m a big fan of the Cubistic art period and the work of Picasso, Braque, and Matisse,” said Zaccari.

“The use of multiple profiles is a Picasso theme.”

Zaccari’s Cubistic fancy began in what he calls the “ancient days” when he was an art student at both the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State. He always enjoyed the diversity as an observer of cubism and thus mimicked the theme in his own pieces.

“I like to see things in different dimensions,” said Zaccari.

At a very early age, Zaccari’s parents encouraged him to study music and art. He recalls even as early as first and second grade experimenting with plaster and throwing it all over his parents’ basement.

“I always knew that I was going to study art,” said Zaccari. “The word A-R-T from a very early age was always the most important word for me.”

This attitude is reflected in his work which is no stranger to VSU’s campus. Titled “Black Bird,” Zaccari’s outdoor sculpture is located outside between the Student Union and Odum Library and he has five additional smaller pieces on permanent display in the library. While “Black Bird” is also an abstract metal sculpture, it greatly differs from “Woman with a Multi-colored Hat” in that the lines are not as crude and the use of color adds further dimension to an already diverse piece.

“The sculpture highlights a female profile, composed of three levels of mirror-finish stainless steel,” said Zaccari. “The highly polished surfaces will provide a dramatic contrast to the colorful components of shapes and forms.”

Zaccari began working on the piece about a year ago when the Jennetts approached him after his one-person show at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts.

“We wanted a piece of his for the building,” said Kay Jennett.

For Jerry Jennett, this began eight years ago when his friend Jeffrey Johnson — director of alumni at Iowa State University — took him on a tour of all of the new buildings on campus.

“He was showing me the art that was in every building that they built,” said Jerry. “They have art in all the buildings.”

The Jennetts realized the importance that art could and would serve on VSU’s campus.

“I think art is important everywhere,” said Kay.

With a wall in the lecture hall already pre-selected, the Jennetts asked Zaccari to create a piece.

“From that point, the creative juices began to flow in new directions,” said Zaccari.

Initially, Zaccari developed three small working models (nine inches by six inches) for the Jennetts and they immediately selected the images, forms and colors of the piece that would become “Woman with a Multi-colored Hat.”

“He worked on several ideas so that we could choose one,” said Kay.

First, Zaccari created simple line drawings then turned the lines into paper shapes.

“The shapes are fed into a computer hard-drive for refinement and mathematical calculations,” said Zaccari. “Example: a paper shape that was 1.5 inches in the model became 60.5 inch.”

The shapes were then cut to projected size by a water-jet plasma cutter. Pneumatic rollers were used to shape the metal to duplicate the original paper model. Individual pieces were then painted and, on Monday, the sculpture was built on site at the lecture hall.

“It is more than fun to watch his enthusiasm,” said Jerry.

Zaccari enlisted the talent of Voigt’s Steel Fabrication Plant to develop the sculpture and install it and Thomas Collision to paint the pieces of 14 different colors matched with only a 15 percent differential accuracy of the original computer model colors.

“I hope the observer of the sculpture reacts positively to its size, technical applications, colors and overall whimsical presentation,” said Zaccari. “When entering the foyer, the sculpture should demand attention.”

“Demand” is an understatement as the sculpture commands the room giving viewers no choice other than to observe as it can be viewed from the ground floor, stairway, from the second-level balcony and even from the street. Lighting will be added today which at night, further pushes the idea of multi-dimension.

“It’s as though the sculpture will have one presentation during the day and one at night,” said Zaccari.

The shadow forms created from the lighting against the structure will create another dimension for the viewer and engulf the foyer completely with its presence.

“I think this is a representation of not only Dr. Zaccari,” said Kay, “but I think it’s so suited to this building.”

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