Beacon, Take 2

About a year and a half ago, I went to Beacon in the Hudson Valley for the first time (initial post here). I absolutely loved Dia Beacon, and was looking for an easy, car-free escape from NYC over President's Day weekend so a friend and I made the trek up there on the Metro-North. I spoke a bit about the museum in my initial post, and I'll just reiterate that it's such a cool experience for those who are not only art fanatics but also those who fall more along the lines of "art curious." The installations are somewhat interactive as they require walking around and through them... Richard Sera's giant works look different from every angle, so that it's impossible to get a sense of what they look like from any one vantage point. They made me think a lot about space, presence and what it really means for an object to occupy space. (perhaps because I read that on one of the placards...)

Richard Serra, Torqued Ellipses, 1996-2000 (Image from Dia)

My friend Kristin joined me, and fell in love with Sol LeWitt's work - a series of full wall drawings of geometric shapes. 

I also liked these installations, but realized at this point that no photography was allowed... so this is my last photo!

We hiked up a little hill to the town - about a 10 minute walk from the museum - and went to a delicious cafe! Homespun Foods had healthy and hearty soups, salads, sandwiches and baked goods. I had a tomatillo soup that hit the spot on a chilly afternoon. 

Dia Beacon

I can't believe I am just finally getting around to visiting Dia: Beacon. It is one of the coolest museums I've ever been to, located in a little town on the Hudson River called Beacon. Beacon is about an hour and twenty minutes from the city, with trains leaving hourly. As I mentioned in the Cold Spring post, this train ride is beautiful. The Dia has a variety of important works, which you can read about on Dia's Website but if you are not that knowledgeable about art they have works by Warhol - heard of him?

An aerial shot of the museum below (photo courtesy of Dia). You can see the train tracks to the right of the museum, alongside the river. It's easy to walk to Dia from the train- signs are everywhere.

Below is a temporary instillation featuring tons of line drawings by Sol LeWitt, custom made for the Dia space.  I asked the museum guide what would happen when the exhibit was over, as these were drawn right on the walls, and he said they'd be painted over. Kind of sad. Photo courtesy of Dia.

Much of the Dia work revolves around the concept of space, which is why Michael Heizer created these holes in the floor of the museum. I love his quote in reference to this work: "Awe is a state of mind equivalent to religious experience, I think if people feel commitment they feel something has been transcended." Also, check out this very cool shot on Smithsonian Magazine. I'm not sure I have the rights to share.

On the topic of space, this sculpture is meant to feel awkward within its confines (Richard Serra sculpture, courtesy of offmanhattan)

The town of Beacon was nice  - not quite as quaint as Cold Spring but there were definitely some nice features. There was a great little waterfront with a Sunday farmers market and a big grassy area to picnic (with playground for kids.) There is allegedly a roped-off area to swim in the summer on the river.

There was a Puerto Rican Day parade in Cold Spring, same day as the NYC parade.

Finally, I had a delicious white bean & tomato soup at this artsy cafe called The School of Jellyfish

Beacon also has a monthly festival called "Second Saturday" ... on the second Saturday of each month... which is a citywide celebration of the arts. I'll check it out sometime and let you know what that's like!