Sculpted surprise | Scene Through the Lens

I still vividly recall a decade ago first hearing about Grounds for Sculpture. Bryan Grigsby, a since-retired photo editor at The Inquirer, raved about this sculpture garden, “they built on the site of the old New Jersey State Fairgrounds.” He said I would love it, promising me lots of visual possibilities at the “amazing landscape.”

I reacted politely, imagining a row of statues lined up along a pathway through what used to be a humongous parking lot. “Guess I could photograph them in direct sunlight,” I thought, “then walk to the other side and get them backlit.”

It wasn’t until a few years later, when looking for a day trip destination and remembering what Bryan had said,, that I googled the museum, and my wife and I decided to give it a go.

It was just one of the many times in my career I have been reminded to ignore preconceptions.

Of course Bryan was right. It was an “amazing landscape.” And my vision of an asphalt “garden” could not have been more wrong.

I loved finding ways to make pictures that were more than just a catalogue of the art work. Far from the stark, plowed over former industrial brownfield site I’d envisioned, it was an arboretum with native and exotic plants, bamboo groves and wildflower meadows, hillocks and allées, courtyards and ponds. With a new surprise around every corner.

Of course we became members.

In a New York Times interview founder Johnson said, “I want my work to disappear into the landscape and then take a viewer by surprise.” He wanted the people who visit to become friends and visit over and over. I did just that.

The newspaper on Sunday published a selection of photos I’ve made there over the years, in all four seasons, in different times of the day, both with my smartphone and my cameras. There are even more here in a click-through gallery:

Since 1998, a black-and-white photo has appeared every Monday in staff photographer Tom Gralish’s “Scene Through the Lens” photo column in The Inquirer’s local news section. Here are the most recent, in color: