Monumental Experience

By Janet Dodrill

Ernest Trova, Gox No. 3, 1974. at Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis, Missouri. Photo: © Janet Dodrill

When I lived and studied at college in St. Louis, I experienced a wonderful estate with a large variety of outdoor sculptures called Laumeier Sculpture Park. One of my favorite sculptures there is Alexander Liberman’s, The Way, 1972-80. If you are ever in St. Louis, pay it a visit and walk the property for a profound experience, of seeing both temporary and permanent sculptures, some of huge scale. You will walk through woods and over hilltops on walking trails to discover all the pieces. When I was last there, I saw many bluebirds in the wooded areas. There is also an indoor gallery.

In an upcoming trip to upstate New York, I am looking forward to visiting the Storm King Art Center, which, similarly, is a rolling landscape of large outdoor sculptures against the Hudson Valley highlands skyline. Their web site describes it as “a museum that celebrates the relationship between sculpture and nature” and “the exhibition space is defined by sky and land.” I am looking forward to also appreciating this creative wonder.