Meditation of Presence

Carts & Cocktails 2015

Tree Dancers, Tree Bands, Music and the Fine Art Center at Laumeier Sculpture Park

Executive Director, Marilu Knode knew, in the mix of so much activity around the capital campaign, the renovation of the estate house and the building of the brand new Fine Art Center --- that to pull off another ambitious blockbuster fundraiser evening event would be a gamble. And yet September 26, 2015 was a glorious evening at the Sunset Hills living laboratory where artists and audiences explore the relationship between contemporary art and the natural environment.

Special Events Committee Co-Chairs Susan Werrenmeyer and Sam Foxman planned a progressive evening in three stations that would unfold during the course of the night. A natural place to start is just off the back porch of the place Henry and Matilda Laumeier once called home. Under paper lanterns, the guests gathered, enjoying the first round of appetizers, wine and signature beverages. Only a hint of a soft breeze of Fall was in the air when museum curator Dana Turkovic announced a dance performance by Holly and David Marchant. The cocktail conversation died down as the attention drifted skyward as the Zen-like movements in a treetop. David moved lightly through the branches and returned to earth as a natural creature helped direct the focus to his partner closer to the base of another nearby tree. It was mesmerizing.

30 captivating minutes closed with a calmness that yielded to applause as the shuttle carts arrived on cue for transport through the park and into the woods where music by the Bottoms Up Blues Gang performed inside the Beverly Pepper earthwork, Cromlech Glen, under a still black sky. Another ephemeral experience diffused as the progressive evening moved to a finale at the Adam Aronson Fine Arts Center.

Bravo.