Grounds for Sculpture: The Hidden Hulu Hoopster

As I was making what seemed like the final rounds of completely covering the full offerings at the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ, I saw beyond a meadow what seemed to be a storage area. I couldn’t imagine it was something they wanted the public to view, yet it was wide open, so I went in. And in the midst of marble blocks, shelves filled with rusty paint cans, and a few miscellaneous heads, I saw this isolated hulu hoopster.

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Perhaps she was in there to be cleaned up or restored, but at the same time, she looked good-as-new. It was interesting to see the metal platform to which she was connected, which I assume would be the underground support when a sculpture like this is installed out on the grounds.

Above her and to the left I see a grouping of three strange heads (below left). I hadn’t seen anything out on the grounds that seemed to be a match for these guys, and the way they’re hanging over (and watching over?) the hulu girl is a little surreal. Seeing the detail shot below right, it's hard to tell whether these are stand-alone pieces or if they're meant to fit on top of other bodies not in storage here.

But perhaps the strangest item in this storage area was this thing, below left: a pedestal with illegible words covered with rust-like spray paint and then a cup with water and some sort of skewered fruit or ball inside (see detail below right). Either it’s a bizarre sculpture, or a groundsperson was just screwing around in this storage area and made this odd item. Also, check out the vacuum cleaner in the back of the left picture – makes me think of a red R2-D2 unit with hoses for arms!

Well, with that brief exploration of "behind the scenes" at Grounds for Sculpture, I decided it was time to move on. Time to go back to the car and on to the next phase of this adventure: looking for art in Trenton. But on my way out, there was something unexpected that grabbed my attention, one last location of intrigue ... click here to read Chapter 6!