After hiatus, the Highland Falls ArtWalk makes its return
Spring has sprung and a year of being cooped up inside has many of us itching to get outdoors.
Thankfully, the Town of Highlands offers a variety of open-air activities. For instance, one could hike around Storm King or Bear Mountain, go kayaking on the Hudson River or do outdoor yoga with a large mosaic bird.
Yes, you read that right. Because Barbara Galazzo and Carol Flaitz’s “Yoga Bird” will be joining 17 other sculptures for the return of the Highland Falls ArtWalk this year.
by Herat Sommerhoff
Actually, there’s a noticeable amount of animal-themed artwork for 2021. A trio of concrete penguins are sure to amuse viewers while a sinuous steel bird reminds us of winter’s icy mystique. A wooden eagle’s head gazes back at you and wiry steel poodles appear to be just as curious about you as you’ll be of them.
If more abstract pieces are to your taste, there’s no shortage of imaginative and vibrant sculptures. For example, there’s Herat Sommerhoff’s “Dancing in the Rain” (pictured), a stucco jumble of geometry and color. Then there’s Lenny Harrington’s “Wandering,” which leads the eye along an endless path of red steel.
But if you’re one of those people that insists you “just don’t get modern art,” you can always share your thoughts about it with Jo-Ann Brody’s “Figure on a Bench.” It’s guaranteed to patiently sit and listen without interrupting you.
Back in 2014, the Highland Falls ArtWalk was initially conceived as an attraction to stimulate interest in Main Street. The very notion of art became an umbrella under which ideas were explored for potentially drawing the attention of tourists, USMA cadets and their visiting families, as well as local residents. Herman Roggeman of Collaborative Concepts made contact with Nicole Shay of Eisenhower Leadership and development was underway for the very first ArtWalk in 2015.
Based in Putnam County, Collaborative Concepts is a not-for-profit arts organization with a history of staging public exhibitions in the Mid-Hudson region. The group’s own Jo-Ann Brody introduced Shay to Eric Feinstein of Otocast, LLC, a company that creates audio guides for numerous attractions and exhibitions. With the Otocast smartphone app, Feinstein provided ArtWalk viewers the ability to listen to informative recordings about each sculpture along with its creator.
However, with Shay unable to organize the following year’s ArtWalk, the torch was passed to village resident Cindy Modlin. With the development team otherwise still intact, work began on organizing 2016’s event with two more to follow. However, there was no ArtWalk in 2019 and, needless to say, the pandemic stopped all plans for 2020. Luckily, the unused funding from grants and sponsorships was still available, and with pandemic restrictions starting to ease up, 2021 proved to be the perfect time for a comeback!
This year’s ArtWalk begins the first week of May and ends in October. So there’s plenty of time to get out there and take it all in. Although it should be noted that due to the ongoing pandemic, there will be no opening reception as in previous years.
You’ll find brochures for the ArtWalk at local businesses, such as the West Point visitors center. Each one includes a map indicating the location of every installation and instructions for listening to the audio guide with the Otocast app. The walk begins at Thayer Gate and ends at Ladycliff Park. And while you can’t miss the artwork installed along the median of Main Street and West Point Highway, a few pieces are also to be found on Main Street itself.
For unsuspecting visitors to Highland Falls, the ArtWalk always makes for a pleasant surprise.
“For many visitors, it may not be the reason they initially came here,” Cindy Modlin said. “Most come here for the West Point visitors center when they notice all of the artwork along the street. Once they discover it, they really seem to enjoy it.” She adds that in previous years, she noticed how “it seems like there was always someone looking at the art!”
Planning for the 2021 ArtWalk was undertaken by Suzanne Brahm, Joe DeWitt, Elaine McConnell, Angela McLellan, Cindy Modlin and Charlie Murphy in conjunction with Jo-Ann Brody, Dell Jones and Herman Roggeman of Collaborative Concepts, along with Eric Feinstein of Otocast, LLC.
For more information about the Highland Falls ArtWalk, visit www.highlandfallsartwalk.org
More info about Collaborative Concepts can be found on their website at www.collaborativeconcepts.org
To learn about Otocast audio guides, visit www.otocast.com