Exhibitions

Rockland Voices-Mariel Farlow

2020-08-19 Farlow Image
Rockland Voices
August 19, 2020 —October 31, 2021

The Historical Society of Rockland County Presents

Rockland Voices
featuring Mariel Farlow—Being of Light

When:
August 19, 2020–October 29, 2023, Wednesdays–Fridays, 1–4 pm
Where: History Center Galleries, 20 Zukor Road, New City
Admission: $5/person; children age 7 and under are free (during the COVID-19 pandemic, admission was limited, and prepaid tickets were required)

Our semi-permanent exhibition illustrating Rockland County's rich history has reopened for a new season!

Through highlights from the HSRC's permanent collection, visitors will learn about several elements that make up Rockland’s history. The core exhibition explores: 

  • The Lenape
  • The Dutch
  • Treason of the Revolution
  • Slavery
  • The Nyack Turnpike. 

New for 2020

MARIEL FARLOW—BEING OF LIGHT
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the installation of one of the most controversial public sculptures in Rockland.In the hot summer of 1980, Mariel Farlow set out to install a monumental sculpture on the grounds of the Rockland County Courthouse in New City. The effort was the culmination of months of preparation, proposals, designs, fabrication, creativity, hard work, and a bit of serendipity. Over the past four decades, however, her 20-foot, 3,000-pound sculpture, Being of Light (originally titled Man of Light), has generated more controversy than any other piece of public art in Rockland County’s history -- to the detriment of its creator’s original intent. 

This special exhibit explores the serendipity, controversy, and philosophy behind Being of Light, which still stands in front of the Rockland County Courthouse, exactly where it was placed 40 years ago. It also renews the call for Farlow's artist’s statement and poem to be mounted on the base of the sculpture, as she had planned in 1980, so viewers can reflect on its meaning and, once and for all, we can let the controversy end.

The HSRC's gallery exhibitions run from August 19, 2020, through 2021. They will be open to the public as COVID-19 conditions permit. Admission is by advance reservation only, Wednesdays-Fridays between 1 and 4 pm.

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The Historical Society of Rockland County is a nonprofit educational institution and principal repository for original documents and artifacts relating to Rockland County. Its headquarters are a four-acre site featuring a history museum and the 1832 Jacob Blauvelt House located at 20 Zukor Road, New City, New York 10956.



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