At the intersection of Main and Market Street in Saugerties sits a red, six-foot-tall swirl of fiberglass in the shape of a heart. Ten miles west lies an identical sculpture in Woodstock on Mill Hill Road, in front of Mirabai. Ze’ev Willy Neumann made these Love Knot sculptures to create a closer bond between the towns. Now, he wants to tie that knot between all 20 towns in Ulster County.
The Love Knot sculptures began in 2011, when Neumann had the idea to create an art piece that connected Saugerties and Woodstock. He asked philanthropist Mark Braunstein for his support, and he agreed to fund it. The Love Knots depict a heart, representing love, an infinity symbol, representing eternity, and a tear, representing the pain inherent in love.
Neumann built the original sculptures from wood. “As everybody knows, wood does not last too long outdoors,” Neumann says. “It became clear to me that they couldn’t survive.”
As they rotted beyond repair, Neumann was devastated. The sculptures were incredibly popular, especially in Woodstock. People would take selfies, propose to lovers, and take pictures with their families in front of them. It was a hard loss.
“I was quite convinced that this is not going to last long, and I need to create some kind of mold and preserve it,” Neumann says.
By mid-2024, the sculptures were ruined. Neumann was determined to recreate them. He reached out to Icon Poly, a foundry in Nebraska to create fiberglass molds of the Love Knots, but the creation and transportation of the sculptures would cost $19,000.
He crowdfunded half of the money and was able to send it to the foundry. The next issue was transporting the sculptures back to Saugerties and Woodstock. “The only way that I could get that money was from one person,” Neumann says. “I had to get the gall to write them a letter and beg for money.” So, Neumann reached out to an old friend, and the Love Knots came home.
The foundry-created mold can be used up to 40 times. In five years, Icon Poly will discard the mold. Neumann’s dream now is to bring a Love Knot to every municipality in Ulster County before that happens. He wants to implement a QR code next to each sculpture that displays things to do in that particular town, as well as a map to the next Love Knot.
So far, he’s met with Ulster County Tourism Director Lisa Berger and plans to meet with the Department of Arts and Cultural Affairs next. He doesn’t know how he’ll pay for the sculptures yet, but he knows it has to happen. “It’s my burning ambition,” Neumann says.
Neumann, at his core, is a giver. Art is his form of giving. He makes no profit from his sculptures. He makes them in order to leave a legacy of kindness; to share his love for people. His heart-shaped Love Knots are the most literal expressions of this idea. He won’t let his mold go. He’ll make his project happen if it isn’t the last thing he does.
“Love is a necessity, goddammit!” Neumann says.
This article appears in June 2025.
