Grounds for Sculpture Curator Brooke Barrie makes the case for contemporary outdoor sculpture in our lives.
By: Ilene Dube
Guests to Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton often remark how each visit opens their eyes to something new.
During an initial tour through the 22-acre sculpture park and museum, established in 1992 by sculptor and philanthropist J. Seward Johnson Jr., one might absorb only the gardens the gently contoured terrain with sculpted conifers, flowering trees and weeping beeches, planted alongside woodlands, marshes and ponds.
On a subsequent visit, "The Nine Muses" by sculptor Carlos Dorrien an assortment of nine different figures may consume an art lover for an extended meditation. On yet another visit, Mr. Johnson’s own creations the three-dimensional re-creations of impressionist paintings, such as Monet’s bridge at Giverny, or "Déjeuner Déjà Vu" may be what captivates.
One can visit the sculpture park, on the former site of the New Jersey Fairgrounds, for years and years before claiming to see everything, both inside the museum buildings, at Rat’s Restaurant, and during the dance, music and poetry performances.
Should a visitor reach that point where everything the park has to offer has been experienced, there’s still one more place to go. Grounds Curator/Director Brooke Barrie’s book, Contemporary Outdoor Sculpture (Rockport, $50), offers magnificent color photographs and accompanying text describing the works of 40 artists, and it can be enjoyed right at the coffee table. Ms. Barrie will talk about the subject and sign her book at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, MarketFair, March 19.
A quick glance at the photos gives the initial impression that Ms. Barrie has focused on the sculpture that surrounds her daily, but on a more careful reading it becomes apparent she has gone much further afield. The book includes everything from Dennis Oppenheim’s "Device to Root Out Evil" in Venice it looks like a space-age neon church skeleton that has landed on Planet Earth, steeple first to pieces that enhance corporate plazas in Texas and Alabama, as well as structures in France and Japan. And yes, there are several works from Grounds itself, including the work of Mr. Johnson.
When Rockport Publishers approached Ms. Barrie about the book, her list of artists numbered 185. She had to whittle that down to 85, basing her selection on living artists who had outdoor sculpture in such settings as urban parks and gardens to natural environments. She wanted to incorporate examples of representational, abstract, site-specific and ephemeral works.
Ms. Barrie sent out letters to her 85 selectees, expecting only half to respond. From these, she narrowed it down to those who had quality images to submit. What she wound up with was a diverse group of sculptors in which women are well represented, as well as a variety of ages and international backgrounds.
"The sculptors whose work is collected here have created public monuments, private visions, intimate portraits, social critiques, urban embellishments, intellectual and aesthetic arguments, and comic statements," writes Glenn Harper in the book’s introduction. "What brings their work together is not just that it is shown outdoors, but that the artists have not sought to remain in the shelter of narrowly conceived audiences or institutions and that their sculpture embodies the intensities of artistic achievement."
Ms. Barrie is a frequent panelist and moderator at conferences addressing how sculpture parks enhance public spaces. "When you put sculpture outdoors, it’s more accessible. People feel more comfortable with it than in pristine white boxes with security guards standing around," she says. "When art is outdoors you can walk up to it, walk around it, get to know it and sometimes even touch it.
"People are used to seeing paintings or things that hang on the wall it may be easier to understand, because you can hang it in your house. Sculpture is more demanding, because it occupies the same three-dimensional space you do. But, unlike two-dimensional paintings, sculpture is in real time and space. There’s something that has always drawn me to it."
Many are accustomed to seeing "war-memorial type sculpture, but there is a whole other world to contemporary sculpture. We have people who may come to see the trees, hear the music and poetry, experience the drama. Sculpture is not their primary reason for coming, but they will be exposed to it," she says. "That’s what we’re all about, showing how sculpture is a necessity in their daily lives."
Ms. Barrie has shared Mr. Johnson’s vision and worked to make it a reality for more than two decades. After receiving her master’s degree in sculpture from Tulane University in 1980, she came to work in the wax department at the Johnson Atelier, a foundry and teaching institution then in Princeton.
After a short time she was named academic director of the foundry, which ultimately moved to the fairgrounds site, and served in that capacity for 15 years. When the sculpture park was founded, she served as its curator, overlapping with her responsibilities at the foundry for three years. As the sculpture park grew and former fairgrounds buildings were converted to indoor museum spaces, Ms. Barrie assumed her current role as director/curator full-time.
A sculptor in her own right, Ms. Barrie had exhibits at venues such as Rider University and Ellarslie until 1994. "My work was figurative, with fragmentary images of sections of the figure. I worked in bronze, taking molds and castings and manipulating them."
Celebrating the museum’s 10th anniversary, she admits the growth has been rapid and she never pictured how successful it would become. "Most people in museum administration aren’t sculptors, so I bring a different set of experiences in determining how to show a piece," she says. "Since I gave up sculpting, the development of the sculpture park has been my creative outlet. This place IS my sculpture." Ms. Barrie has provided leadership in landscape design, siting and installation, and has served as a consultant on designing sculpture gardens for other museums, such as the James A. Michener Museum in Doylestown, Pa.
Writing the book gave Ms. Barrie the chance to visit sculptors in their studios. "It has helped me to learn a lot about the artists and their work," she says.
Many who visit Grounds remark on the sense of humor, or whimsy, in the installations. Mr. Johnson’s own work epitomizes this. That sense of whimsy is also apparent in many of the images in Ms. Barrie’s book. Is humor endemic to contemporary sculpture, or is it specific to the common vision of Ms. Barrie and Mr. Johnson? There is even wit in the landscape design at Grounds.
"People look at Mr. Johnson’s three-dimensional impressionist re-creations and laugh," admits Ms. Barrie. "We have worked well together over the years and share an affinity for humor. I have a great appreciation for humor in art and admire artists who have so much fun doing their work."
Brooke Barrie will talk about contemporary outdoor sculpture and upcoming Grounds for Sculpture programs at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, MarketFair, West Windsor, March 19, 7 p.m. For information, call (609) 716-1570. Grounds for Sculpture is located at 18 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton. Hours: Tues.-Sun. 10 a.m.-9p.m. For information, call (609) 586-0616. On the Web: www.groundsforsculpture.org