The Spring 2009 Dia Beacon Benefit
Last Sunday I attended a benefit for Dia:Beacon up on the banks of the majestic Hudson River in Beacon, NY. Dia:Beacon is a fantastic museum housed in the former National Biscuit Carton Making and Printing Plant. Dia obtained the building in 1999 with the intention of using this massive space to house its renowned but seldom seen permanent collection of art from the 1960s to present day. With 240,000 square feet of exhibition space illuminated by natural light, this building is a phenomenal place to visit and view works by Andy Warhol, Robert Irwin, Gerhard Richter, and Louise Bourgeois, just to name a few. The benefit was so much fun and it was a wonderful treat to have the Merce Cunningham Dance Company perform for us at the culmination of their two-year residency at Dia:Beacon. I urge anyone visiting this area to stop and spend some time at this museum. My good friend and genius photographer Todd Eberle was at this event and you can view his coverage at Vanity Fair . Also, my dogs Francesca and Sharkey covered the event on their blog, The Daily Wag.
Wow. I would love to meet Matthew Barney. I have admired his work for quite a while.
Posted by: Wayne M | May 20th, 2009 at 7:22 am
That is a fab pic of you Martha! NICE WORK Todd! (#6)
Posted by: Amy Lomasney | May 20th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Hi Martha,
You seem to always be there to help your friends out when they have a benefit. I would love to see the art work in this museum but the possibility hasn’t shown up in my crystal ball yet! But I keep hoping to visit your area. Was that your bff Memrie Lewis in picture #2 who Gael Towey is talking to? It looks like her.
Congrats on the 4 Emmy nominations and your 700th show! I am always in your corner rooting so of course I hope you win. You looked fresh and spring like on the Today Show this morning and you made me so hungry for blueberries. Trish
Posted by: Trish | May 20th, 2009 at 9:07 am
Hi Martha!
A trip to the Dia is a great way to spend a Sunday. You fit right in with all those precious works of art. I, too, especially love the photo of you in the doorway taken by Todd (6 of 17). You look so naturally elegant, and it reminds me of the photo taken of you in yet another doorway...remember in Mexico, I think, with the hat on? So very sweet.
I glanced around on Dia's site exhibit and was drawn to the very colorful photo by Louise Lawler and Andy Warhol; 'In And Out Of Place'. Simply brilliant, I mean, Brillo!
Thanks for taking me there, Martha!
Posted by: tinay | May 20th, 2009 at 9:13 am
What a cool space! It must be magnificent to see all those works of art in all that light. Thanks for "taking us with you" to the museum. (Also, those are some cute shoes Martha is wearing!)
Posted by: ps | May 20th, 2009 at 9:38 am
I love your outfit!
Posted by: Sherrelle Kirkland-Andrews | May 20th, 2009 at 10:42 am
So glad that you had a great time at the event. I really enjoy your blog and website. It really has been an enormous amount of information. I would love for you to do a post on homemaking at my blog. Thanks and have a great time on your vivit.
Posted by: Valencia @ Buildeth Her House | May 20th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Martha,
You look amazing! love the shoes!
Posted by: Brandon Jones | May 20th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
What an amazing space...so fresh and light. Now I am totally re-thinking the chocolatey cork floors I ordered for our Birch Hill build! I am also needing a wonderful home quote for around our hearth if anyone has a suggestion?
http://www.snickerdoodles.typepad.com
Posted by: kerry | May 20th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Hi Martha, What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday, at Dia:Beacon. It certainly is a beautiful place and your photos and those by Todd Eberle are absolutely stunning. I love seeing photos of you and those that you take of others. My favorites were the one of you in #6 and the 2nd one of Gael Towey. You both looked very young and beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | May 21st, 2009 at 12:59 am
Martha,
Sorry you didn't win because you certainly should have, in my opinion.
I am the very proud owner of your cooking school book and there is no other cookbook I need or want...so thanks!
And by the way, how much 'pink' do you think it will take to balance out this male domination that seems to be lurking in every industry? AND, I am so very thankful for all of the men who do wear pink and are mindful of the problems associated with male dominance in the food industry as well as all the others.
What comes to mind is a line from an old song,'...why can't we live together?' I suppose if we can start anywhere it would be in the kitchen!
Power to the pink people!
Posted by: tinay | May 21st, 2009 at 9:22 am
Have you ever made canned cake? I make it as Christmas presents and to always have a dessert in the house for unexpected guests.
Posted by: Cathy O'Bryen-Schultz | May 21st, 2009 at 3:25 pm
This is one of my favorite museums of all time. I only wish the tourism could support the town. Great adaptive reuse here and fabulous weekend trip for those from the west coast if you can pair it with a schlep to StormKing and then to Wave Hill. Okay, make it a very very long weekend.
Posted by: nazilam | May 26th, 2009 at 1:32 pm