Art, Nature Beckon in the Hudson Valley

This Labor Day weekend, are you looking for a one day getaway but come from a mixed marriage — one partner is lobbying for a hike in the country, the other for gallery hopping or hitting the Metropolitan Museum of Art's holiday Monday hours? 

If you add children or grandchildren into the mix, then where to go and what to do are even more complicated.

Arts Beat will give you the solution by first asking another question:

While driving north on the New York State Thruway, have you wondered why  there is a giant, red erector set  in the landscape?

Find out why by taking Harriman, Exit 16, resist stopping at the outlet stores, follow Route 32 east for 10 miles and watch for a left at the green bridge and directional signs to the 500 acre Storm King Art Center, Old Pleasant Hill Road, Mountainville, N.Y., (845) 534-3115.

There, nature and art play among rolling hills, fields and forests under the watchful eyes of the Hudson Highlands and Storm King peak. Rain and clouds enhance the mystery.

Arrive and be greeted by Alexander Calder's soaring 50-ft. high "The Arch."

Proceed to discover a huge collection of sculptures, many specifically commissioned to interact with their chosen settings.

The giants of American and European modern art are represented: Calder, Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi and a collection of 13 pieces by David Smith. (That's a David Smith sculpture in South Orange's Meadowland Park.) 

Many of the works are welded steel abstract colossi that stride and transform the sweeping vistas of the landscape. There are also figurative pieces on a more intimate scale and surprises at every turn of the road.

Ursula von Rydingsvard's "For Paul" and her recent "Luba," 18 feet of carved cedar, are among my favorites. But at Storm King, Von Rydingsvard's works and Darrell Petit's 2008 "Kiss," leaning granite behemoths, count as small.   

(Yes, if you know a little art history and you don't have to, Petit is making a 21st century nod to Brancusi's famed 1908 "The Kiss.")

There is a massive multi-ton piece that challenges gravity.

There is a stone wall, built without mortar by traditional British Isles wallers, that serpentines for over 2,000 feet around trees and rocks. 

There is a pond where weeping willows caress a beckoning mermaid-boat.

Nearby, Maya Lin has sculpted earth and grass into a many acre undulating wonder.

Wear walking shoes and allow several hours. This Labor Day weekend, Storm King is open today from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sunday and Monday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Bring a picnic. Park in the lower lots and either walk the long trail up to the administrative/museum building or hop a handicapped accessible tram. (They run from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

In the museum building, pick up a site guide. Gain an overview by looking at the kid-friendly scale model of the grounds and listen to the narrative audio.

Then take off by foot, rented bicycle — you can't bring your own — or tram.

The trams circumnavigate the grounds in a continuous loop. You can get off, explore and then catch the next one. An audio tape offers an overview of the wonders.

At the end of the day, prepare for re-entry into everyday life by returning to the galleries for the center's 50th anniversary exhibit, "The View from Here," highlighting Calder and Smith and the early history of Storm King.

There also are daily docent-led tours, children's story telling inspired by the sculptures on Monday and a free concert on Sunday afternoon, rain or shine.

Selman is a cultural historian and arts advocate. E-mail her with column requests.