The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is hosting an outdoor exhibition of memorials to Henry Hudson designed and constructed by distinguished architects from the Catksills and Hudson Valley. Hudson never received a formal burial because his crew mutinied and set him adrift in the icy waters of Hudson Bay. Hudson's death is lost in time, but his life is remembered in the schools, parkways, valleys, and rivers that bear his name. The memorials interpret the significance of Hudson's historic journey within the context of 400 years of European occupation.
Curated by Linda Weintraub, the exhibition makes an original and thought-provoking contribution to the state-wide Quadricentennial of Hudson's explorations of the Hudson River. "Ahoy! Where Lies Henry Hudson?" combines architecture, history, art, performance, education and ecology and reflects upon the ideals of exploration and discovery, adventure and heroism.
Our installation frames an exploration of the landscape. Each modern pilgrim is invited to embark on their own search for the northern passage conveniently contained on the Byrdcliffe property. In this case, a walk through the woods will lead to a series of shrines. Each shrine will interrupt the search much as Hudson’s search was repeatedly interrupted by the unfortunate realities of geography. Each shrine will celebrate the farthest landfall reached on each of Henry Hudson’s four known voyages. Just as Hudson’s explorations were informed by the knowledge gained by earlier explorers, markers guide modern pilgrims to each of these shrines and eventually to the final resting place of Henry Hudson.
The shrines also include relics from the actual places represented in hope that viewing pebbles from a remote Arctic beach might result in the achievement of a higher level of geographical enlightenment. An actual sample of the landscape of a place allows us to look beyond our current age of virtual reality and instant digital transfers to contemplate an object that is real and that physically traveled the distance. Each relic will be accompanied by thorough documentation of its authenticity.
The final pilgrimage of Hudson’s life was for something that did not exist and that he could never reach. Ironically, he is celebrated today for the landscapes he found along the way, landscapes that must have embodied frustrating defeats to him at the time.
Our installation aims to dramatize these conclusions by creating the physical experience of searching the landscape for something of dubious existence. Hopefully, we will be rewarded by what we find along the way. Ultimately, the pilgrimage to find what Hudson sought, following the same false leads and dead ends, pays homage to the spirit of the man and to the nature of all those who are driven to search and explore.
