Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Opus 40
I had heard about this place kind of recently, and couldn't believe I had never visited it when I had lived relatively close by. It was a Monday and we had some time to kill so I got the info from my smartphone and we headed over.
They were actually closed, but a school group was just leaving so I figured they wouldn't mind just a couple more kids exploring. The caretaker was kind. He said we could walk around a bit and he'd keep it open for another hour. No charge.
In 1938, Harvey Fite (1903-1976), one of the founders of the Bard
College Fine Arts Department, purchased an abandoned quarry (reportedly
for $250) in the town of Saugerties, NY, in Ulster County, about 100
miles north of New York City. Over a period of 37 years he created the
monumental world-acclaimed 6 ½-acre bluestone sculpture now known as
Opus 40.
Constructed by this one man, using dry-key stone techniques adapted from
the Mayans, Opus 40 is made from millions of pieces of indigenous
bluestone, laid by hand, creating a labyrinthine world of finely fitted
stone, swirling with ramps and terraces constructed around pools and
trees and fountains, rising out of bedrock a half mile deep. One can
walk through, around, and over it, from the deepest recesses of its
subterranean pathways (16 feet below ground) and up to the nine-ton
monolith that is the epicenter and summit of the sculpture (three
stories above ground). Opus 40 is a breathtaking blend of artistry and
landscape.
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| Monolithic |
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| This picture came from the website No way I could have gotten a birds-eye view |
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| Also from the website |
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