The Mount, Lenox, MA
June 1, 2023 - October 21, 2023
by Shera Cohen
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| "The Magician" photo by Ann Jon |
my recent trip to SculptureNow at The Mount. I can only guess that the art piece literally landed on the lawn near the end of the trail where a wedding was in prep. Only on that particular day, tourists were not permitted to walk further down the trail. Frankly, I cannot think of a more natural and lovely setting to begin a marriage. But I digress.
SculptureNow was founded in 1998 by a group of people involved in the arts in the Berkshires who became aware of a need to promote the experience and knowledge of sculpture through exhibitions and educational outreach, and to offer artists venues for showing their work in our community.
Ann Jon, director of SculptureNow, began her journey to promote works of sculpture of artists throughout the country. Jon's own talent is in the sculpting medium. What more picturesque site than The Mount, the former home of famous author Edith Wharton, in Lenox, MA? The exhibition has received tremendous reviews and has been seen by 60,000 visitors.
SculptureNow was founded in 1998 by a group of people involved in the arts in the Berkshires who became aware of a need to promote the experience and knowledge of sculpture through exhibitions and educational outreach, and to offer artists venues for showing their work in our community.
I recall meeting Ms. Jon during the first summer of SculptureNow. At the time, Jon initiated her plan with hope for a successful first summer. However, she was quite redescent about what the future would hold. She was extremely grateful to The Mount for seeing the value of her program. But evaluation of SculptureNow would be deemed one year at a time.
Last summer, I interviewed Jon as well as Susan Wissler, executive director of The Mount, on Sculpture Now's tenth anniversary. It was a treat to be invited on a private tour.
From June 1 through October 21, Sculpture Now's artists number 27; each presentrf large-scale art works using material such as: ceramic, steel, concrete, aluminum, wood, wire, fabric, glass, stoneware, and mesh. I won't pretend to know what tapioca rootwood flowers were, but they adorned the piece titled "Unbridled" by Deborah H. Carter; a large mannequin-like bride's body, yet minus a head.
Walking a circuitous loop around the landscape were works valued at $6,500 and up. Yes, all sculptures were for sale, but in the meantime, SculptureNow is an exquisite show of modern art. My own take on the art was sometimes quizzical, as if to ask, "What is that?" Other times, the art images had titles which helped me out: Everest (glass medium) by Harold Grinspoon, Celebration (steel) by Douglass Rice, and my favorite One Leaning on Another (bronze) by Joy Brown. I saw balls of black metal as an image of a mama bear with a much smaller identical series of balls on her back, holding on as if a baby. It seems odd to compare big, heavy brass to a soft mom and babe, but that was my take. Who's to say if I was right or wrong. In visual art, I believe that there are no absolutes.
