REFLECTING THE LANDSCAPE
DOUG AITKEN’S NEW HORIZON TAKES FLIGHT
by Meredith Cutler for Special Places Member Magazine, Vol 27 No. 2
Article excerpt:
When summer finally arrives in Massachusetts, unfurling long days of seemingly endless possibilities, we disperse to our state’s sandy beaches, verdant hiking trails, bountiful gardens and farms to escape the mundane, to reconnect, and to expand our horizons. This summer, as our eyes turn to the skies above the Massachusetts landscape, we may very well see our own reflection looking back.
This July, a reflective hot air balloon and gondola conceived by artist Doug Aitken will make an unprecedented aerial “road trip”—launching from the sandy shores of Long Point Wildlife Refuge in Martha’s Vineyard and concluding at Field Farm in Williamstown two weeks later. During scheduled stops at seven Trustees sites along the way, the flying studio will become a platform for social happenings featuring live music, food, and inspired dialogue—all centered around the theme of “the future.”
Titled “New Horizon,” this fourth installment of The Trustees’ Art & the Landscape initiative was once again curated for The Trustees by independent Boston-based curator Pedro Alonzo. As the founding curator for the Trustees’ ambitious public art series, Alonzo most recently brought Alicja Kwade’s sculpture “TunnelTeller” to the former hedge maze at the Crane Estate this past year (on view through March 2020). Previous installations came from artists Sam Durant at The Old Manse in 2016 and Jeppe Hein at World’s End in 2016-17.
Elevating the Art & the Landscape concept to a whole new level, New Horizon seeks to give all who encounter it a platform for creation and unique opportunities to connect around big ideas, whether in flight above the dynamic Massachusetts landscape or displayed against the backdrop of diverse Trustees sites, from the gardens of Naumkeag in Stockbridge to the fields of Holmes Reservation in Plymouth.
“When we began the Art & the Landscape initiative four years ago, we were seeking to create new traditions, and to cast the familiar in new light—to enliven our iconic landscapes through the imaginations and wild perspectives of our artists,” says Barbara Erickson, Trustees President & CEO. “Aitken’s shiny metallic orb literally holds a mirror to our landscapes, reminding our visitors to stop, to look up, to look around, and to be filled with wonder.”
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