Beacon
New York
In my last post I wrote
about Storm King Art Center as one of two places where large-scale sculpture go to retire. Storm King suffered very little damage from Sandy and will
be open as scheduled for the next month. The other place to see monumental
sculpture that threatens to topple and crush you à la Richard Serra or Christo
and Jeanne-Claude is Dia:Beacon.
Dia:Beacon is more
accessible than Storm King (well, not right now, as Metro-North trains are
still being repaired). It is settled in the middle of a picturesque town and is a
mere 80-minute train ride from Manhattan. Because of its location in a town
with food and shelter as opposed to Storm King’s more remote status, it can
make for a more comfortable day-trip, or even be extended into a weekend
mini-break.
Thanks to Dia, which
opened in Beacon in 2003 as an extension of its Chelsea location, Beacon has
been experiencing a renaissance. Just a decade ago Beacon was a shabby sleepy
place with a couple of cafés and more than its fair share of antique/junk
shops. Now it boasts a growing arts scene, waterfront development, cupcake
bakeries, and multiple bed and breakfasts.
I first visited Beacon in
2006 when there still weren’t many galleries and the first B&B had yet to
open. My boyfriend and I had to stay at a motel in nearby Fishkill, and,
because the local car service stopped running at 5pm, we had to get there
early. It was a pretty amazing place: A $50-a-night classic motel run by a
young couple who decorated the check-in area with their own pen-and-ink tattoo
drawings. Sadly, this place is now closed. As is the delicious soul food
restaurant that was once run out a woman’s house on Main Street in Beacon. The
Cup and Saucer Tea Room is still there, but it’s not very English anymore. Six
years ago you could get scones, crumpets, and bangers and mash. Now the fair is
your basic quiche and salad. But, considering how seedy much of Beacon looked
back then, I’ll admit most of the change the development has brought has been
positive. However, as the four or five places you can stay in Beacon will cost you $150
to $300 a night, I still recommend heading over to Fishkill, which has a Days
Inn for $68 a night, plus breakfast with make-your-own Belgium waffles. Perhaps
the increased tourism has also extended the car service hours.
Dia:Beacon occupies a
1929 Nabisco box printing factory and lights as much of the work as possible
with natural lighting from the space’s many windows and skylights. Because of
this, it is open for a shorter time in the winter. It is also open Friday
through Monday in the dead of winter as opposed to its normal opening days of
Thursday through Monday. Year-round the museum opens at 11am. You, however,
want to get there before 10:30, because every day it's open they
allow a group of people to enter early for a private close-up viewing of
Michael Heizer’s North, East, South, West. This piece is basically a series of geometric shapes cut into the concrete
factor floor. Normally viewers have to stand a good twenty feet back because of
obvious safety concerns, but during the morning tour you get to walk right up
to the edge and peer into the abyss. The catch: no one under 18 is allowed on
this special viewing tour. Again, for obvious safety concerns.
The Dia Art Foundation
has made it its mission to support works that are not easily accommodated by
most conventional museums. Along with its Beacon and Chelsea locations, Dia
safeguards such large-scale outdoor works like Robert Smithson’s Spiral
Jetty and Joseph Beuys’ 7000
Oaks. It also has several small
spaces around NYC with long-term installation pieces by artists like Dan Flavin
and Walter de Maria.
Unlike Storm King, most
of the works at Dia are found inside, but the surrounding Beacon area offers
plenty for those itching for more time outdoors. Follow the Riverfront Trail
from the train station to a mile-long loop around Denning’s Point. Closer to
the train station is Beacon Point Park with a sculpture pier created by
Dia-funded artist George Trakas. There’s also Waterfront Park which boasts a 20-foot floating pool in the middle of the Hudson.
Then there’s Main Street,
which still has plenty of antique shops, but now you can also get a decent
cup of coffee and a microbrew. Every second Saturday of the month galleries and
shops stay open late for art openings, music, and other special events. Of note
is Hudson Beach Glass which offers glass blowing classes and sells some glass
works that aren’t completely awful (something difficult to do with glass art).
I’m not saying everything is amazing, but there are some nice items on offer.
The more adventurous can visit Mountain Tops Outfitters which runs kayaking
tours on the Hudson, including some to the Bannerman Castle ruins (something on
my list of things to do) near Breakneck Ridge. They can also provide you with
hiking maps of Mount Beacon, which includes streams, falls, old casino ruins,
and the Mt. Beacon Fire Observation Tower which marks the highest point in
Hudson Highlands.
In short, there’s plenty
to occupy an entire weekend if you so desire, or head up for just a day to take
in the art. However, a word of warning about the art before you go: The vast
majority of the Dia:Beacon collection was acquired in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. This, of
course, means that the rooms are chockfull of minimalist and post-modern
high-concept works. Think Sol Lewitt, Donald Judd, and Agnes Martin. It is not
for everyone. It’s something that vaguely interested me in college, but to be
perfectly honest, I wouldn’t go up to Beacon for the art alone. One can see
only so many white boxes and florescent lighting tubes in their life before
they become a bit tedious.
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