You’re driving through Rosslyn, trying to find your way to Arlington Boulevard, and you glance over and see several large concrete spheres and poles. They are huge. “What is that?” you ask yourself, as you zip right past the on-ramp. You would not be the first person to have had this experience.
What IS that?
It’s Dark Star Park. And it’s fascinating. It’s art. It’s science. It’s history. It’s a social event.
Created in 1984 by artist Nancy Holt, Dark Star Parkhas fascinated Arlingtonians every summer, when on August 1st, at 9:32am, the shadows cast from the poles and spheres align with their solid forms. This bit of artistry performed by the sun marks the moment of Rosslyn’s founding.
This year will be the 35thanniversary of its creation, and several events have been planned to celebrate.
After you’ve experienced the alignment (every Arlingtonian should see it at least once in their lives!), hop on the metro and cool off at Gallery Clarendon or Gallery Underground! We open at 11 and would love to see you!
In Conversation: Time in Public Sculpture
Wednesday, July 31, 6:30 p.m. | Ring Auditorium, Hirshhorn Museum (Independence Ave and 7th St, Washington, DC 20560)Free, tickets available starting Thursday, July 11, 12 p.m. ESTJanel and Anthony Performance
Thursday, August 1, assemble 9:00 a.m. | Dark Star Park (1655 Fort Myer Dr, Arlington, VA 22209)
Free and open to the public
The Alignment at Dark Star Park
Thursday, August 1, 9:32 a.m. | Dark Star Park (1655 Fort Myer Dr, Arlington, VA 22209)
Free and open to the public
Nancy Holt Film Screenings with an introduction by Lisa Le Feuvre
Thursday, August 1, 12:30 p.m., & Saturday, August 3, 2:00 p.m. | Ring Auditorium, Hirshhorn (Independence Ave and 7th St, Washington, DC 20560)
Free, first-come, first-served seating
Holt/Smithson Foundation’s Executive Director Lisa Le Feuvre will lead a panel discussion exploring the ever-evolving nature of sculpture in the public realm with Arlington Public Art Founding Director Angela Anderson Adams, Hirshhorn Associate Curator Anne Reeve, and the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum Director Brett Littman.
The world premiere of an original site-specific composition by Cuneiform recording artists Janel and Anthony. The live performance (which will begin at approx. 9:20 a.m.) will coordinate with the 9:32 a.m. shadow alignment.
The community is invited to watch as the sculpture aligns with the sun and celebrate with light refreshments provided by the Rosslyn Business Improvement District.
Screening of Nancy Holt, Sun Tunnels (1978, 26 min.) and Nancy Holt, Art in the Public Eye: The Making of Dark Star Park (1988, 33 min.). The films reveal the making of visionary land artist Nancy Holt’s earthworks, serving both as documentation of her best-known land art sculptures and as artworks in themselves.
(Many thanks to the Arlington County Website for details of the events and the image of Dark Star Park!)
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