Looking at art, especially contemporary art, prompts us to examine perception itself, and Dia Beacon provides the psychic and physical space to allow this to happen. Situated on the Hudson River far removed from the cacophony of The City, Dia Beacon’s galleries and environs are an asylum. The interior vistas and natural light of a former Nabisco box factory are the perfect theatre for a series of one-act plays enacted by the likes of Robert Ryman, Michael Heizer, Donald Judd, and Richard Serra. Seen in this context, art that often appears inscrutable in other venues, resonates with purpose, even for the uninitiated. The entire complex is one large, rambling, public art installation.
The most memorable project is Michael Heizer’s North, East, South West. The brilliance of the absence of form (perhaps inspiration for the World Trade Center Memorial) dazzles us with its simplicity and geometric perfection. But it is sinister too—beckoning us to the edge to gaze into interminable voids, which could mean sudden death with one false step.
On this visit I experienced the Hudson River through George Trakas’s Beacon Point. Walking over the river on grates, touching the lapping water along submerged steps, or resting on a pylon seat to gaze into the atmospheric haze of river and mountains, the installation carries the mood of Dia Beacon to the water’s edge.
-Michele
The most memorable project is Michael Heizer’s North, East, South West. The brilliance of the absence of form (perhaps inspiration for the World Trade Center Memorial) dazzles us with its simplicity and geometric perfection. But it is sinister too—beckoning us to the edge to gaze into interminable voids, which could mean sudden death with one false step.
On this visit I experienced the Hudson River through George Trakas’s Beacon Point. Walking over the river on grates, touching the lapping water along submerged steps, or resting on a pylon seat to gaze into the atmospheric haze of river and mountains, the installation carries the mood of Dia Beacon to the water’s edge.
-Michele
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