When I set out towards home I knew I wanted to make a detour on the way to Storm King. Storm King is an art center and a nature preserve near the Hudson River. It's a staggering place - 500 acres littered with sculptures ranging in size from human scale to astonishingly huge. They limit photography out of copyright concerns but these photos, taken with my crappy cell phone camera will give you a feel for the scope and the beauty of the place. I spent a happy 3 hours wandering and could easily have spent days if it weren't for my need to cover 600 more miles between there and home.It was about 90 degrees and I was nervous about a car full of encaustic paintings even though it was parked in the shadiest corner I could find. The paintings survived the heat though.
The vistas here are just lovely. Living in a very flat part of Michigan I particularly appreciate the ups and downs of the terrain here!
Andy Goldsworthy undulating wall - it's more than 2000 feet long and is built of traditional dry-laid stone following the curve of a hill down to a pond, curving in and out among trees.
Goldsworthy has designed a second wall which is being installed in honor of Storm King's 50th anniversary. I saw the crew working on it - one small digging machine and 4 men working by hand - and a long line of piles of stone through a line of trees. I want to go back to see the finished work!
This vista looks like it goes an incredibly long way. I was surprised by how quickly I covered a lot of distance walking - the views really exaggerate the distances here.
other end of same vista
This area - the south field - is dominated by a set of really huge Mark di Suvero sculptures. They are amazing and having them set out in the open rather than in front of a building gives them a strong and resonant presence.
Lousy shot of Maya Lin Wave Field - this is a new piece - built in 2007-8 and still being tweaked by the artist. It's more than 4 acres across (one guard told me more than 11) - from above, shooting down from the hilltop it's impossible to get the scale.I didn't shoot much more - so much of the work needs to be experienced in person. I'm very glad I went - I want to go back when I have more time to spend a day drawing there. It's a wonderful place.
*****
The rest of the drive home was uneventful but long. Chunks of lovely views mixed in with miles and miles and miles of roadwork on I80 across Pennsylvania, particularly on Monday. Driving on a weekday in construction season is unavoidably tedious. Good to be home, assimilating the past couple of weeks.I will post more images of Loomis Chaffee and the work I did there in the next few entries.
Meanwhile my show Earth & Air is up at the Susan Hensel Gallery. She has posted a lot of installation views at the gallery site here. I will be at the reception at the gallery on May 21 from 7-9pm so if you're in or near Minneapolis do stop by!
