"The idea of people walking in landscape and looking at sculpture is part of the heritage of English landscape design," says Mr. Murray, director of Yorkshire Sculpture Park in England. "But the development of a permanent space for contemporary sculpture is, relatively speaking, new."
Storm King Art Centre in the Hudson Valley would beg to differ as 2010 sees it celebrating it's 50th year. Not dissimilar to Dia:Beacon in its mysterious draw as a destination for locals and visitors from the far reaches of the Hudson Valley and beyond, the sprawling well-crafted grounds of Storm King are guaranteed to please.
Perhaps over-intellectualizing this place by attributing it's very appeal to something more than simply a great 'park' to exercise one's children or to pass a lazy day winding (by foot or tram) its many trails. I cannot help but feel a certain learned sensitivity, however, to centuries of social activity in the pastoral garden traditions of 'the old country'. Meandering circulation connecting strategically placed 'points of interest' and staged views of follies framed in the distance illustrate an historical tendency toward the mystery and intrigue of the once carefully crafted stage set that was the English Garden.
At SKAC, however, scale figures predominantly; a site-specific setting-off of human interpretation with the immediate and distant environs. Hulking sculpture calls forth the gentle roll of the surrounding mountains, others interpret a more precise geometry of plan and elevation against a more immediate backdrop. While its is certainly the large gestures, with their bold interpretation of kinetic movement or thoughtful use of colour that capture ones fascination with this place, its replication via photographic image defies reverence. Instead, the subtleties of wind, rain, fog, sunshine and cloud seek to perpetuate an ever-changing scenography that lives symbiotically somewhere between nature and nurture.
Encountering works of contemporary and modern art is certainly less intimidating in these agreeable surroundings. As your journey unfolds throughout the grounds every piece, in turn, discovers an added dimension in relation to the specific living context it inhabits. Perhaps, for this reason, the only thing new about Storm King Art Centre is that the term 'Sculpture Park' has been omitted from it's name - instead bearing only the name of a museum that pays homage to the confines of room; earth and sky.
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