Listening Forest

There's something haunting and beautiful about being surrounded by trees after sunset.  Our New Year's Eve was spent outside Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.  Bundled up against the cold temperatures, we had a wonderful time with the interactive exhibits!

Here are my posts about other excursions at Crystal Bridges: 

North Forest Lights

Fashioning America

I wish I had taken more photos, but I was busy enjoying the moment!  This is just a tiny glimpse into our experience.

If I remember the numbers correctly the above display held over 3,200 lights.  Each participant could place their hand under a monitor and then watch their heartbeat pulse across the bulbs.  When no one was at a monitor, each lamp had its own rhythm from a previous individual.  Hearing that many hearts all at once created an emotional sense of unity.  All ticket holders can become a piece of the art.

The Text Stream was fun, too!

Waiving your arms or kicking your feet within the river would create splashes and swishes of letters.

If we held still, though, sentences would swirl around our feet like a whirlpool.

The canoe filled with Chihuly Glass is part of Crystal Bridges' standing collection.  It is gorgeous by day and spectacular by night!

Even the parking garage is a striking purple and gold feast for the eyes.

We are terrible at selfies, but it's nice to document that we really went somewhere on New Year's Eve!

How did you welcome 2024?