A Day At Dia Beacon

The Dia Foundation has a great museum up the river Hudson a-ways from New York City and it's well worth a visit. It specializes in artists from the 1960s onward, showing work that's high in concept and site specific. It's a primal experience.

One of the heavies, Richard Serra. His work seems like ship steel bent to his whim.

Art that sums up Dia's purpose, white on white (ode to Bob Dylan?) and a painting that depicts the day it was painted. 

Dan Flavin, who worked in fluorescents. Impossible to photograph faithfully, which is probably part of the fun of seeing the art transformed as an image. Art that keeps evolving.

Surveillance footage of a loft studio and a pile of broken glass works as art.

Sarah, getting green.

Richard Serra At Storm King Art Center

Storm King is made for Richard Serra. You may remember him for being involved in one of the more unfortunate public art installations in history. Back in 1981, Serra won a commission and installed a site-specific sculpture in a federal plaza in New York city. It was titled "Tilted Arc" and was a large swath of a steel wall that bisected the plaza. While beautiful and interactive to the site, the work ruined the plaza as a place to walk through easily. The lawsuits came and eventually Serra's scultpure was removed. The case serves as an example of the limits to public art.

No matter, Serra has created excellent work elsewhere in more receptive and accommodating spaces. Check out the Dia Art Foundation for great examples of Serra's work.

Storm King has an excellent piece called "Schunnemunk Fork." It's a simple enough concept, a group of steel slabs similar to "Tilted Arc," emerging in a landscape. Unlike the urban plaza location, Storm King offers plenty of breathing room.

Among the flora, elevations and light, Serra's work presents constantly changing versions to enjoy. Amazing stuff, see for yourself.