Described on the Storm King Art Center’s website as:
“Storm King Art Center is a 500-acre outdoor museum located in New York’s Hudson Valley, where visitors experience large-scale sculpture and site-specific commissions under open sky. Since 1960, Storm King has been dedicated to stewarding the hills, meadows, and forests of its site and surrounding landscape.”
Which is pretty much what the location is.
What you don’t quite grasp is the scale of the park, even though the literature gives you the size, 500 acres. You’re going to need at least 8 hours minimum to do the whole park, so make sure you take a picnic or something because there didn’t seem to be a food kiosk of any description open later on in the day.
As a first-time visitor, (and actually, I didn’t realise we were going to visit until we were there) it’s quite something, especially if you’re visiting on a really nice day, which we were, and the weather and the lighting is perfect, which it was.
Walking around and viewing the sculptures on display you’ll find yourself picking your favourite ones (as normally happens), and because of the variation of forms and styles shown, it’s a bit difficult to pick a favourite, they all hit the mark, for various reasons. Lots of famous and well known names are present, Alexander Calder (1898-1976), Henry Moore (1898-1986), Sol le Witt (1928-2007), Louis Nevelson (1899-1988), David Smith (1906-1965) and Jonny Swing (still breathing and his pulse is fine, apparently), to name but a few.
The whole park is curated in such a way whereby you see one piece, and somehow out of the corner of your eye, the placement of another piece is designed to draw you over and ultimately facilitate your journey round the park. In so far as the layout of the pieces in the park is concerned, they’ve done an incredible job. It’s smooth, easy to do, and easy to understand and enjoy.
On the way round the park (and we do bicker on occasion) however, I tried to explain to Alex that some works you can litterally 'hear'. "Take some meds" was the response, so I had to point out to him that some artworks are a bit like a musical score in that, you can read what they sound like, and I guess when I put it like that, he might have had a point.
Not every work sings of course, but every work certainly speaks to you in one way or another, it just boils down to whether you wish to hear or understand what the artist is trying to convey and what senses he or she is aiming at, assuming of course you can feel the rhythm in any given work.
In so far as works created for exterior locations, I like to have something ‘jar’ me slightly, if that’s the right word to use. When I say jar I mean something that’s just a bit unsettling, that keeps or puts you on an edge on your way in, and sits on your frontal lobe on your way round. I’ve no idea what that could have been, a giant Freddie Krueger would of looked out of place, and, full disclosure, we didn't get to see the whole park so there may of been something on display out of left-field, as they say. Perhaps Storm King isn’t the place for that, the center is meant to provide for a great day out, and a smooth journey round the park. It has to be said that the finally to the park tour, a massive Alexander Calder titled The Arch, leaves a lasting impression on you, simply because of the sheer scale and presence of the piece; you certainly can't miss it on the way out and it's not something you'll forget in a hurry.
Storm King Art Center is a spectacular place to spend a whole day (or two) if you like art, and comes highly recommended. It's somewhere to relax, chill out on the way round and take in one of, if not the greatest out door sculpture parks you'll ever see anywhere.
Elliot Lee
HOURS
Monday – Closed
Tuesday – Closed
Wednesday – 10AM – 5:30PM
Thursday – 10AM – 5:30PM
Friday – 10AM – 8PM
Saturday – 10AM – 8PM
Sunday – 10AM – 5:30PM
Entrance is $18.00
For additional information: https://stormking.org/visit/
Alexander Liberman, 1912–1999 - Title: Adonai, 1970–71 (refabricated 2000) - learn more about the artist, here
Henry Moore, 1898 - 1986 - Title: Reclining Connected Forms, 1969 - learn more about the artist, here
Isamu Noguchi, 1904–1988 - Title: Momo Taro 1977-1978 - learn more about the artist, here
Barbara Hepworth, 1903 - 1975 - Title: Forms in Movement (Pavan), 1956 (cast 1967) - learn more about the artist, here
Max Bill, 1908 - 1994 - Title: Unit of Three Equal Volumes, 1965 - learn more about the artist, here
Alexander Liberman, 1912–1999 - Title: Iliad 1974–76 - learn more about the artist, here
Louise Nevelson, 1899–1988 -Title: City on the High Mountain, 1983 - learn more about the artist, here
Alexander Calder, 1898 - 1976 - Title: Five Swords, 1976 - learn more about the artist, here
Alexander Calder, 1898–1976 -Title: Black Flag, 1974 - learn more about the artist, here
David Smith, 1906–1965 - Title: Becca, 1964 - learn more about the artist, here
Menashe Kadishman,1932–2015 - Title: Suspended, 1977 - learn more about the artist, here
George Rickey, 1907–2002 - Title: Two Planes Vertical-Horizontal II, 1970 - learn more about the artist, here
Tal Streeter, 1934-2014 - Title: Endless Column, 1968 - learn more about the artist, here
Barbara Hepworth, 1903 -1975 - Title: Square Forms with Circles, 1963 - learn more about the artist, here
Barbara Hepworth, 1903 -1975 - Title: Square Forms with Circles (detail), 1963 - learn more about the artist, here
David Smith, 1906 - 1965 - Title: Personage of May, 1967 - learn more about the artist, here
Corinthians from the Danskammer Estate overlook an area of the park
Alexander Calder, 1898–1976 - Title: The Arch, 1975 - learn more about the artist, here
You may also like to read:
* Central Park Sculpture Guide along with Commentary by Noted Restorer
