New Horizon
A Nomadic Art Installation and Series of Happenings
July 12–28, 2019
This July, The Trustees will present New Horizon, a traveling art installation and series of happenings by American multimedia artist and filmmaker Doug Aitken at some of its most iconic properties. Doug is the fourth featured artist in The Trustees’ Art & the Landscape public art series designed to create new experiences inspired by its iconic places.
New Horizon will traverse the Massachusetts landscape creating dynamic flashpoints for conversation, music, and assembly at select Trustees natural, coastal, and cultural properties and making surprise appearances from July 12-28, 2019. Conceived and curated by the artist, New Horizon will feature a series of live events and experiences taking place across the state, all centered around a mirror-surfaced hot air balloon and gondola that vividly contrasts with the natural settings of New England.
Borrowing from one of the great American mythologies—the road trip—Aitken is creating a 21st century version of a summer journey with a reflective balloon sculpture that moves across the state, complemented by a curated series of conversations designed to provide insight into the future of our culture, ranging from discussions on the changing climate to the evolution of digital identity with leading figures from organizations such as World Frontiers Forum and the Woods Hole Research Center.
Aitken’s work often incorporates live music and performance creating both temporal and recorded experiences. For New Horizon, he has invited a dynamic line-up of emerging and celebrated musicians and songwriters including Jónsi, Kelsey Lu, Destroyer, and Mac De Marco to perform as the balloon is transformed into a large-scale light sculpture that moves and flows with the music and the environment.
“When we invite artists to respond to our landscapes through their art for our Art & the Landscape program, we expect inspired responses, but this project by Doug Aitken surpasses our expectations,” says Barbara Erickson, Trustees President & CEO. “He has taken not just the concept of the landscape but also the ideals of conservation, the values of social consciousness, and the nostalgia of the best summer road trips and blended them all into a visually poetic manifestation of the New England summer.”
Doug Aitken is known for working in numerous mediums, from film and installations to architectural intervention, as a means to inspire the viewer to interpret the world around us with a new perspective. His works are often platforms for engagement that provoke innovative thought and dialogue. New Horizon is Aitken’s first public artwork commission in the U.S. for a large statewide conservation nonprofit. It has been conceived and created specifically for the Trustees to be presented at some of its most iconic natural landscapes throughout Massachusetts.
“We are thrilled to have Doug be the next featured artist in The Trustees’ Art & the Landscape program. I am most excited about how New Horizon explores our collective sense of the future. Doug’s practice melds multiple disciplines to create one of kind experiences that increase access to contemporary art among diverse audiences. This is integral to The Trustees’ mission for this provocative series,” adds Pedro Alonzo, Curator for the Art & the Landscape series. “There will be many opportunities for the public to engage with New Horizon, whether it’s at a single site or following the balloon on its multimedia journey across the state of Massachusetts.”
The Trustees’ introduced its Art & the Landscape series in 2016 to create inspiring art experiences at some of the Massachusetts-based conservation nonprofit’s historic house museums, parks, gardens, and beaches. Aitken is the fourth artist to be featured in the series which has, to date, included works by Alicja Kwade, Jeppe Hein, and Sam Durant and welcomed thousands of new and repeat visitors at some of The Trustees’ most iconic sites, including Castle Hill on the Crane Estate in Ipswich and the Old Manse in Concord, both National Historic Landmarks, and World’s End in Hingham.
New Horizon journey & schedule
New Horizon will appear in conjunction with a series of free and ticketed happenings and conversations, ranging from special sunrise experiences and tethered flight opportunities, to evening performances and conversations, family events, and special fundraisers.
It will premiere on Martha’s Vineyard the weekend of July 12-14 at The Trustees’ Long Point beach reservation on Martha’s Vineyard and Farm Institute in Edgartown and then move off island on Wednesday, July 17 to Holmes Reservation in Plymouth. On Saturday, July 20 it will visit deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln and then move on to Castle Hill on the Crane Estate in Ipswich on Sunday, July 21. New Horizon will then travel across the state to Field Farm in Williamstown on Friday, July 26 where it will stay for the weekend with a stop at Naumkeag on Saturday, July 27, making its final stop at Field Farm in Williamstown the morning of Sunday, July 28.
A few additional flights and appearances will also be announced along the journey. Places and times to be announced via Instagram Ads, Facebook Stories and Twitter—follow #dougaitkennewhorizon #dougaitken #thetrustees #artxlandscape. New Horizon will also be filmed and shared online. To follow the New Horizon journey, learn more, and for a full schedule, visit thetrustees.org/newhorizon.
