Storm King Art Center: Follies

The Arch (1975) by Alexander Calder

The theme of the current exhibit at Storm King Art Center in Orange County New York is follies. ‘Follies’ indeed is a word I would use to explain the first portion of my visit to this center. My trip to Storm King was broken up into an outdoor and indoor portion—I favored the latter greatly. 

Outdoor sculptures, mostly abstract froms, make up the permanent collection of Storm King. The outdoor location of these sculptures is based in necessity as their size cannot be confined under a ceiling; the height range is between 67cm and up to 15m. There is something about wadding through grass, getting eaten alive by bugs, and the wind blowing away your map as you attempt to figure out what you are seeing that makes the exhibit less appealing. While I do love the great outdoors, I did not think they mixed well with art. This experience emphasized for me the importance of the space in which the art is placed. The location might not have to add to the experience like the clear pyramids at the Louvre, but it should not distract from the central pieces. I could not enjoy these outdoor structures due to my pathetic allergies being triggered by my surroundings. Luckily, the great indoors saved the day for me.

Conservatory for Confectionery Curiosities (2008) Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood

Eventually, I found Storm King’s museum building. To my delight, I was met with the blast of air conditioning pushing out the humidity and summer heat. It was inside the building that I discovered the exhibit “Follies” featuring American artist Mark Dion. The aim of “Follies” is to take function things and make them quixotic and thus devoid of practicality; Dion intentionally created pieces that would be a folly if a purpose other than aesthetics was the aim. The pieces are said to be more inspirational than useful. My favorite example of Dion’s work is actually a collaboration with another artist, Dana Sherwood, called Conservatory for Confectionery Curiosities. The structure is a glass rotunda housing a multi-layered table with different elaborate desserts on the shelves. This piece shows the fun of having sweets like cakes and puddings on display en plein air, but the impracticality is present by the bugs that swarm the sugary goods. The piece is beautiful, despite the health code violations, as it engages all the colors and textures of a proper confectionery window. Conservatory for Confectionery Curiosities is a perfect folly; it is beautiful but highly impractical. 

The ‘Follies’ portion of my trip put a droll spin on my visit to Storm King. The exhibit put my earlier impression of the art center’s outdoor area into perspective. To my mind, outdoor art fit the definition of folly; the experience of viewing aesthetic pieces is marred by an uncomfortable setting. However, I ironically found myself amused by Mark Dion’s outdoor confectionary. Mark Dion was very well aware of his pieces being a folly and made them so intentionally. One seemed to forgive the foolish elements of the piece because it was intentional and the viewer was in on the joke. The juxtaposition of this exhibit to my horrible experience outdoors poses an interesting question about intentionality. Perhaps, if the outdoor statues were intended to make me uncomfortable, I would have enjoyed them more, as wonky as that may sound. Everyone just wants to be part of the joke after all!