Comments (0) Best Artsy Dog Walk - 2012
Socrates Sculpture Park
32-01 Vernon Blvd.
Long Island City, NY 11106
718-956-1819
In 1986, sculptor Mark Di Suvero spearheaded a campaign to transform an illegal Queens dump site into an open-air exhibition space. A quarter-century later, you and man's best friend can stroll through the grassy expanse here surrounded by artworks that might use an entire Ford Mustang or swathes of birdseed as materials. Established artists such as Catherine Opie—whose fiery billboard straddles the steel entrance gates—mix with young unknowns who wrangle concrete slabs and hot-air balloons with equal aplomb. Free and open year-round, the changing exhibitions at the Socrates Sculpture Park offer eclectic aesthetics to all comers, and parents can enjoy the East River breezes while gamboling kids and pets race amid the artworks, adding an air of unselfconscious exuberance to this decidedly unstuffy venue. That said, pet owners would do well to recall the painter Gully Jimson's observation in Joyce Carey's biting novel The Horse's Mouth: "When I had my canvas up, it was two foot off the floor, which just suited me. I like to keep my pictures above dog level." 32-01 Vernon Boulevard, Queens, 718-956-1819, socratessculpturepark.org (11106)
