Night Forms at Grounds for Sculpture -- 2024

Two years ago we saw Night Forms at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ. The exhibit came back last winter. At the time I made a wish: I wish to visit Night Forms at Grounds for Sculpture following a snowstorm.

I live in New Jersey. That should be an easy wish to fulfill.

I hadn’t appreciated the wish had three caveats: it had to snow, it had to snow on a weekend, it had to only snow a little bit because too much snow would mean Grounds for Sculpture would would be forced to close for safety.

It did not snow at all last winter. It did not snow for 715 days in a row.

A few days ago, it snowed. On a Tuesday.

Yesterday it snowed. It snowed so much Grounds for Sculpture closed for the day.

That brings us to today. There was still snow on the ground from yesterday’s storm, and it is a Saturday.

I should have added in a fourth caveat: temperatures near freezing.

It was 20 degrees when we went, with a feels like temperature of 10!

We could have, should have planned a little better. We did wear snow boots, and pack our YakTrax (which were not needed). We should have worn more than one pair of socks. Had we thought of it, we would have stopped at Dollar Tree and picked up some hand warmers.

Staff and volunteers were enthusiastic about the small crowd who came. Though we arrived 10 minutes after the grounds opened, we were not the first people to say we came specifically because it snowed and we wanted to see the illuminated sculptures covered in show.

Night Forms is a light and sound show by Klip Collective uses the sculptures already in the park and adds lights and music. He uses music by indie and electronic artists to enhance the mood. There was one section between the soothing music and rhythmic flickering of lights I was being lulled into a Zombie-like state. I told Don I could fall asleep relaxing in that space. Trouble is, on a night like tonight I would die from hypothermia and never wake from the zone.

Some pictures of Night Forms in the snow. This is its last year.

These were not working when we arrived

My favorite is Froghead Rainbow because of how well the music is timed to the amphitheater seats. It feels as if a maestro is conducting the rocks. We watched the four-to-five-minute loop several times.

Deferring to the cold, we stopped in the café for hot chocolate and a chocolate chip cookie (clearly chocolate has restorative powers). We then returned for one final look.

A guard we befriended earlier that night saw us after our fortification asked if we noticed the joystick that controlled the lights on a specific sculpture. We had not. It was on the far side of the sculpture. When we got there someone else was using it. He told them a specific pattern to use and (he swears) that motion controlled the action. I can’t say I noticed anything. Don gave it a try. I suppose I should have, too, but had lost interest by then.

A surprise piece of entertainment was watching the peacocks fly between trees as they tried to figure out the best place to sleep. Nighty night, peacocks.

On the drive home, neither of us could say the snow enhanced the experience. In daytime the entire place is transformed by snow, but at night, the light show is the light show, only much, much colder.

However, the next day, warmly seated in the family room looking at my pictures, I am so glad we went on that cold, snow-filled night. The snow gave the ground a rippled, snowy look, and I did like taking pictures of the lights on the icicles.

My favorite picture that night