ROCK TAVERN – The Hudson Valley will be putting its mark on the 88th Academy Awards on February 28th.
Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry was commissioned by the Academy, this year, to create the Oscar trophies. Formally, the Oscar trophies had been made in Chicago but, for the 88th Academy Awards, the Academy decided they wanted this year’s awards to be more like art rather than trophies, bringing them to seek some of the finest artisans of the Hudson Valley.
Thursday afternoon, Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney visited the foundry for a tour with Owner and Metallurgist Dick Polich to see how the world renowned Oscar is made.
Maloney, left, and Polich, in the foundry
Sales and Project Manager Stephanie Minor with
one of the Oscars
Maloney said this caliber of craftsmanship is one of the many reasons why the Hudson Valley is so great and now the region will be able to show on the world stage what it can do.
“I think it’s really exiting that, right here, in the Hudson Valley we’re going to be casting the sculptures, using the original process, at this extraordinary local foundry and I’m so proud of Dick Polich and all the people who work here who are going to be doing this process going forward, it’s a great testament to the type of talent and creativity we have right here in the Hudson Valley,” said Maloney.
The Academy had their pick of any foundry in the civilized world to make their Oscar award statues but, they chose the Hudson Valley. Dick Polich said he believes this to be no coincidence, being that the foundry has been casting fine art for approximately 20 years to clients such as Frank Stella but, never has he had the opportunity to be part of creating such an iconic piece of Americana such as the Oscar award statue.
“One of the things about it is that we have stuff all over the world that we’ve made for artists and museums and whatever and never have we made anything that had this kind of renown and this kind of sense of accomplishment upon having done it,” said Polich.
The approximately 50 Oscar statues were shipped out on Tuesday of this week and will soon be in the hands of many famous celebrity actors, actresses, directors, script writers, and many others with key roles in the top movies of 2015.
