Storm King

It occurred to me this morning that it's a 3-day holiday weekend. Except for summer getaways, I'm not much of a planner.

Courtesy of Accuweather.com, here's what's on tap for Hoboken this weekend:

image from Accuweather.com

Not bad! It looks like Sunday's the beach day. Or Monday if you like it HOT.

I was thinking where else to take LA (Little Avenger) for some outdoor fun, maybe a picnic, and thought of Storm King Art Center. If she's agreeable. She's the boss.

For those who haven't heard of it or been there, I am recommending it for a day trip as a fabulous place that adults AND children can enjoy. Especially very young children.LA had a blast back in 2006, the last time we went, at age 3.

What is Storm King? From their web site:

Storm King Art Center is a museum that celebrates the relationship between sculpture and nature. Five hundred acres of landscaped lawns, fields and woodlands provide the site for postwar sculptures by internationally renowned artists. At Storm King, the exhibition space is defined by sky and land. Unencumbered by walls, the subtly created flow of space is punctuated by modern sculpture. The grounds are surrounded by the undulating profiles of the Hudson Highlands, a dramatic panorama integral to the viewing experience. The sculptures are affected by changes in light and weather, so no two visits are the same.

Exactly.

It is an extraordinary, uplifting experience as you wander through the open fields and hills with a backdrop of mountains and see large-scale sculpture installations integrated into the landscape. It's terrific for kids; LA was excited to 'discover' the huge sculptures nestled in the landscape and climb on whatever was climbable.

Here are some pics from 2006, so you get a feel for the place:



That's LA- she took off for the red sculpture on sight.


LA spent a long time at this one; the disemboweled carcass of a tv set, being 'watched' by abstract stone figures with stone human faces emerging from below- ground, It was creepy, but interesting.




Do take the free tram around the grounds or I guarantee you'll miss a lot.

There's a small museum building as well, and a picnic area.

The focus of Storm King's permanent collection are abstract welded steel sculptures from the 60's to the present, although figurative works are also on view. And the collection includes the work of modern Masters like Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, Isamu Noguchi, Louise Nevelson, Richard Serra, and David Smith and lesser-known contemporary sculptors. One work I especially like is called Storm King Wall, by Andy Goldsworthy, and is a 1/2 mile stone wall built from stones off the property that undulates through the forest, around trees, goes into one end of a pond, submerges then comes up out of the other side.

My advice is if you go, study your Google map- there is no clear demarkation where to go, it's easy to screw up. Visitors info here.

Whatever you do, enjoy yourself and be safe.

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