Grounds for Sculpture
Hamilton, New Jersey
During a recent outing to Grounds for Sculpture (a large park filled with sculpted art exhibits in New Jersey), I found myself as equally drawn to the many plants and flowers around the property as I was the amazing artwork. While I did take some photos of the sculptures, I took even more images of the flowers, bees, trees, and such. Which begs the question of how we define art and how much our particular perception of the world impacts those definitions.
I can definitely appreciate all the hard work and artistry the artists put into their work, and I did spend time enjoying each of the installations - especially the ones where the artists transformed famous paintings into 3D life-sized sculptures that you can walk around in. No one can take away from the impressive skills needed to pull this off.
And yet, I still found myself drawn to the things that grow rather than those that were manufactured. Perhaps it explains why I’m so often found behind a camera stalking birds.
How do I define art? A bird in flight, a turtle basking in the sun, a flower glistening from a recent rainstorm, or a doe peeking at me over the tall grass of a summer’s meadow..