Beacon, NY

Yesterday's destination was to Beacon, a Hudson River town where the Dia Foundation has a museum of contemporary art.  I'm not necessarily a huge fan of contemporary art, but I love land art and Dia sponsors and preserves such art.  They also sponsor...um..."quirky" art that is amusing, if nothing else.  While Dia was my primary destination, I had the added treat of wandering the charming Main Street of the town.

I caught the 9:45a Metro North train from Grand Central Station.  The MTA sells a "get away" ticket for the train and Dia admission so I bought that for $29.50, as compared to a $26 round-trip ticket and a $10 museum admission fee.  (If I had a printer, I could've gotten this "get away" ticket for 5% less.)  The train ride was beautiful; the tracks hug the Hudson.  I remembered doing this trip years ago when I went by train from NYC to Montreal.  I didn't remember how pleasant the view was.  We went under the Tappan Zee Bridge, passed a lighthouse and many sailboats, and eventually started to see mountains.  One very interesting site was a castle.

The castle is very large and I didn't know anything about it until I walked through Beacon and saw pictures of it in galleries.  I also looked it up on the internet when I got home.  It is called Bannerman Castle and it sits on what is officially Pollepel Island but it is mostly known as Bannerman's Island.  Construction on this replica of a Scottish Castle started in 1901.  It was used as a storage facility for Francis (Frank) Bannerman, who was a munitions dealer.  On December 28, 2009, a large portion of the castle collapsed.  There is an organization that is trying to preserve it. There are also kayaking tours out to the island, which I think would be interesting.

The area between the black lines is the part that was lost from the collapse.

Needless to say, I didn't need the magazine I brought for the 90-minute train ride.  There was so much to see and contemplate.  When I arrived in Beacon at 11:15a, I began the 10-minute walk to the museum. 

The Dia Museum is in an old warehouse right on the Hudson.  Walking toward the museum was a sensual experience.  The tree leaves were bright green, the sun was reflecting off the water and it was warm on my face, I could hear a train in the distance, and I could smell new mulch.

Inside the museum was, well, interesting.  I stayed for about 50 minutes.  The museum is small but I also sped through it.  I saw a big piece of what appeared to be butcher paper with a big white square painted on it.  This was hung on the wall by masking tape.  Ah, OK.  There was a pile of broken glass.  (Made me wonder what would happen if someone fell on the upright pieces.)  One exhibit had string fastened from ceiling to floor such that it made a large rectangle.  There were mangled up car parts.  There was a Warhol section.  I saw giant, metal lined holes and flourescent light exhibits.  One exhibit featured drawings that appeared to be giant graph paper.  There were some pieces I liked but much of it made be chuckle...silently, of course.  I know it may not sound like it but I'm glad I went.
 
Artist: Robert Smithson.  Gravel Mirrors with Cracks and Dust, 1968

(He has an outstanding land art piece called Spiral Jetty in the Great Salt Lake, Utah but this piece escapes me.)

I spent some time with this exhibit by Zoe Leonard.  It is called You see I am here after all (2008).  It is comprised of hundreds - possibly thousands - of Niagra Falls postcards, grouped by the same postcard type. Some fronts of the postcards have postal marks and other, presumably old postcards, have space where messages were written on the fronts.  Some of these cards were from the early 1900's.  I can't imagine the work it took to gather all of these and then assemble them.  Maybe she wanted this to look like flowing water?

I had had enough so I walked into town.  It took me about 15 minutes.  The town reminded me of a larger Jim Thorpe, PA or a bigger Collingswood, NJ.  I had a great, "proper" lunch at Max's on Main.  (Lunch was a surf and turf skewer with pesto and cilantro on top in a bed of salad that included artichokes and avocado.)  I meandered back to the train, only about a 10-minute walk as the train station-Dia Museum-town are in a big loop. 

I was back in Manhattan by 4:30p.  At 6p, I met my Chicago friend at the Mexican restaurant at the base of my building.  We had some food and drink and said our good-byes.  After we parted, I looked at the brochures I picked up about the Hudson Valley.   I learned of the other charming towns on the Hudson and about a kayking trip on the Fourth of July where you kayak into the Hudson and watch the fireworks.  I think I need to book that trip!

For now, I want to take advantage of my afternoon and, in spite of the foot injury I acquired yesterday (long story), I am going to hobble out for a few more adventures.