July 17, 2019

Doug Aitken’s ‘New Horizon’ Roams the Massachusetts Skies

Doug Aitken’s computer rendering illustrates New Horizon, his 60-by-100-foot, mylar laminate–coated hot-air balloon flying over Massachusetts from July 12-28, courtesy of the Trustees of Reservations. Image courtesy of Doug Aitken. 

“I love the idea that a farmer in the field could look up and see this mirrored sculpture float by.” That’s multimedia artist and filmmaker Doug Aitken referring to New Horizon, his nomadic installation that’s set to roam the Massachusetts skies this July. Commissioned by the Trustees of Reservations, a nonprofit focused on preserving 25,000 acres of the state’s natural sites, Aitken has created an oversize hot-air balloon from 70-denier high-tenacity nylon coated in mylar laminate. It will be fueled by propane, which burns cleaner than gas or diesel, and include a gondola accommodating eight people for sunrise rides. When not airborne, the balloon will be tethered at various noteworthy properties—Long Point Wildlife Refuge in West Tisbury and deCordova Sculpture Park in Lincoln among them—where farm-to-table dinners, live music performances, and talks with such luminaries as Lord Norman Foster will take place beneath the shiny orb.

Watch a video of the installation below:

Keep scrolling to view more images of the installation >

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE. Artist Doug Aitken (left) and architect Norman Foster (right) speak during a panel discussion on Foster’s creative process. Photography by Carmen Ellis.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE. Doug Aitken’s New Horizon. Photography by Carmen Ellis.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE. Doug Aitken’s New Horizon. Photography courtesy of Doug Aitken Studio and the Trustees.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE. Doug Aitken’s New Horizon. Photography courtesy of Doug Aitken Studio and the Trustees.

> See more from the June 2019 issue of Interior Design

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