A Day at the Dia: Beacon
Tuesday, 23 November 2010 | by Pat's Picks
Looking for something to do with holiday guests? The Dia: Beacon, it turns out, is a great way to spend an afternoon. I think somewhere in the back of my head I knew this, but it took an accident in the midst of travel planning for me to actually get there and walk around.
Last weekend, Dawn and I were headed upstate for a getaway with the family. But we were coming from different directions—I was driving and she was taking the Metro-North train from Manhattan—so we needed a rendezvous point. Looking at the map, it became clear that Beacon was the ideal spot. Perfect. Once we got to Beacon, we realized the train station is just a two-minute walk from the fantastic art exhibits at the Dia. Perfect squared.
The Dia is all about vast spaces. It hosts the kind of exhibitions that would be impossibly expensive in an urban setting. But in the 300,000 square feet of a former Nabisco box factory, the exhibitions on display have more than enough space to unfold. And thanks to 34,000-square-feet of skylights, everything is flooded in natural light.
This is big art that’s impressive and fun to look at, even if you’re not typically interested in art museums. We saw cars crushed by John Chamberlain, fluorescent lights in the shape of buildings by Dan Flavin and giant steel drums from Richard Serra.
Dawn and I were impressed by all of it. Her parents thought it was a surprise highlight of their trip to New York. The kids even learned a bit and managed to stay out of trouble with the super-serious guards.
My biggest regret was that we didn’t have time to climb into a wacky exhibit from Franz Erhard Walther. To my untrained eye, it looked like a bunch of grown ups climbing into big sleeping bags together. But one of the museum employees explained it in much artsier terms: “This exhibit is activated by the participant. It derives its energy from you. You complete the piece.” Aha. Anyways, if you have the energy to spare, it’s definitely worth the trip.
The Dia: Beacon is just off Interstate 84 at Beacon, NY. It’s only about 90 minutes from New York City by car or Metro-North train, and the walk from the train really is easy. Full visitor information and train directions.
