Mirror Fence by Alyson Shotz

 Mirror Fence is a public art piece by Alyson Shotz. The artwork was originally created in 2003 and was then refabricated in 2014. Originally Mirror Fence was displayed in Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, New York in a multi artist show titled Yard. The art piece is now located in Storm King Art Center in Hudson Valley, New York along with many other public art sculptures. The piece consists of a 138 feet long straight non closing line of a standard picket fence design made with mirrors. The dimensions of this piece are 138 feet long by 36 inches high by 4 inches thick and is created using the materials Starphire mirror and aluminum. 

Alyson, Shotz, Mirror Fence, 2003, Storm King Art Center, Photo by Jerry L. Thompson 

Alyson Shotz is a New York based sculpture artist. She originally studied geology and physics before going into sculpture art. Shotz’s abstract sculpture art is influenced by science due to her background. Shotz uses her art sculptures to enhance natural phenomena like light, gravity, time, and space. Besides Mirror Fence, another art piece by Alyson Shotz that shows her amazing work is Standing Wave. Standing Wave stands at a height of 96 inches, a length of 354 inches and a thickness of 12 inches. Standing Wave was created in 2010 using acrylic dichroic strips. This sculpture consists of thousands of differently cut acrylic dichroic strips fastened side by side jutting out from the gallery wall to make waves. This piece was displayed at the Wexner Center of Arts on Ohio State University Campus in Columbus, Ohio. The artwork focuses on the way the dichroic strips interact with the light and colors within the gallery space. Dichroic acrylic is made by vaporizing quartz crystals and metallic oxides with an electron beam in a vacuum chamber. This causes a crystal-like structure to form, making the dichroic strips reflect colors and light. Dichroic strips are actually clear but they transmit certain wavelengths of light while reflecting others. Shotz made this art piece to create an experience that changes and shifts in perception of space, physicality, and light. Entanglement is another amazing sculpture by Alyson Shotz. This huge sculpture that has hung from the ceiling of the Billie Tisch Center for Integrated Science at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York since 2022 consists of 750 pounds of steel and paint formed into a mesh tube shape that tangles around itself. This sculpture explores the natural phenomenon of entanglement. During her speech for the opening of this art piece Alyson Shotz talked about how entangled structures are a necessity to DNA proteins, fluid dynamics, turbulent plasmas, and the quantum mechanical foundations of nature itself. Shotz also mentioned how entangled structures are written into the basic design of biological and physical systems, and represent one of the earliest human technological advances. Shotz also took inspiration from the use of knots in culture and art throughout history. In Buddhism the knot is used as a symbol of the interconnectedness of all things and the intertwining of emptiness and form. Celtic knots are also a very common symbol. There are many different types of Celtic knots and each symbol of intertwining lines has a different meaning. All Celtic knots have no distinct start or end and many are based off of basket weave knots. Knots are also found in many cultures throughout history including Roman, Byzantine, Chinese, and Islamic art and architecture. Alyson Shotz took all these inspirations and made the stunning piece that is Entanglement. With visually captivating and thought provoking sculptures like this it is no wonder that one of Alyson Shotz sculptures landed a permanent home at Storm King Mountain Art Center. 

Alyson, Shotz, Mirror Fence, 2003, Storm King Art Center, Photo by Jerry L. Thompson 

Storm King Art Center is a sculpture park located in New York’s Hudson Valley. Storm King is 500 acres of beautiful outdoor scenery and sculptures by many artists from all different countries and backgrounds. Storm King was founded in the 1960s by late co-owners of Star Expansion Company Ralph E. Ogden and H. Peter Stern. The initial gift of the museum building and surrounding land was made by the Ralph E. Ogden Foundation, Inc. Overtime Star Expansion Company donated 300 acres of land near the original gift and another 2,100 acres of Schunnemunk mountain. The original vision for the Storm King Art Center was a museum solely devoted to Hudson River School Painting. In 1961 Ralph E. Ogden and H. Peter Stern had become invested in sculpture art. While early purchases like Reel from 1964 by Anthony Caro were placed right outside the museum, later sculptures were placed spread out all over the land due to a purchase of thirteen sculptures by David Smith in 1967. Every Sculpture is sited on the property with the purpose to fit the artwork in both immediate surroundings and distant views. This public art center was made to enrich both the land and the community of the Hudson Valley along with its visitors. A place with such rich nature causes it to be a perfect setting for many artists to stage their art. Some notable artworks at the art center include Number Seventy-Two (The No March) made in 1972 by famous French born sculpture artist Louise Bourgeois, Suspend made in 1977 by Menashe Kadishman, and Storm King Art Centers newest installation added in 2023 Lookout by Martin Puryear. Storm King Art Center is also the perfect place for Alyson Shotz’s Mirror Fence.

Alyson, Shotz, Mirror Fence, 2003, Storm King Art Center, Photo by Jerry L. Thompson 

Alyson Shotz’s Mirror Fence is designed to have the same shape, height, and width measurements of a standard picket fence. Pointy topped vertical slats fixed together with two blunt end horizontal ones. The type of picket fence you would imagine when one talks about the “white picket fence” life. Though it might sound like an average picket fence from this description, the difference is that this fence is made of mirrors. Shotz’s fence also doesn’t enclose anything like a fence usually would but instead goes in a straight line for 138 feet. The fences reflective properties cause the piece to blend and adapt with its environment. The fence reflects its lush surroundings of the Hudson Valley on its surface making it feel as though it isn’t even there or as though it’s a perfectly natural part of the environment. The fence's reflective surface causes the piece to constantly change as it reflects its environment. In Winter it reflects the snow, in spring flowers, summer the lush green surroundings and in the fall the autumn leaves falling to the ground. The fence also looks different at different times a day as people and animals pass by and the sun and moon move across the sky. This means that everytime you see the fence it’s technically a different piece. 

Alyson, Shotz, Mirror Fence, 2003, Storm King Art Center, Photo by Jerry L. Thompson 

Other than having the standard dimensions and pointy top shape of your classic fence Alyson Shotz Mirror Fence is nothing like a fence. Infact, one could consider it an anti fence as it doesn’t enclose anything and its mirror surface does the opposite for privacy that your normal wooden fence would. So, if it doesn't give privacy or enclose anything like a fence is supposed to then what is the purpose of this structure? One thing about this artwork is its relationship to the American dream. Private property is a very inherent idea in America. The “white picket fence” life is a huge dream for many Americans. The idea of a suburban life with a single family home, a couple of kids, a good marriage, and a peaceful life is ingrained in the American lifestyle. The fence is not a boundary line as it does not enclose anything. Instead, it is just a line in the landscape of the Hudson Valley. In Shotz's eyes the fence could go on forever. Shotz would like this fence to make people think about what borders really are and why we have them. The artwork's almost invisibleness due to its mirror surface also relates to how the American dream is a flickering idea that comes in and out of grasp. This idea of flickering in and out of grasp also relates to the parasocial relationships we have on social media and the internet. Mirror Fence can also be seen as a tool. Alyson Shotz interest in light came from her time working with tools like microscopes, camera lenses, and telescopes. All these tools help you see things that would otherwise be invisible to the bare eye. As Alyson Shotz stated in an interview for this piece “Seeing through an instrument is a different way of seeing,”. Shotz hopes that looking at the surrounding landscape through the Mirror Fence almost like a camera lens will help the viewers see the valley around them in a different light. This piece is also engaged by movement. The farther away you are the more the piece blends into its surroundings making it invisible and as you get closer more becomes apparent about the piece. This piece has many meanings because Alyson Shotz likes her sculptures to never be completely knowable. Even with a mysterious aspect to all her art she still hopes this structure will lead the viewer into thinking about space in a new way. 

Alyson, Shotz, Mirror Fence, 2003, Storm King Art Center, Photo by Jerry L. Thompson 

Before Mirror Fence was at Storm King Art Center a version of it was part of a group art show at Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, New York titled Yard. Yard consisted of sculptures by many artists including Jason Middlebrook, Elise Ferguson, and Adam Cvijanovie. The art pieces all centered around the idea of suburbia. Critic Kevin Pratt stated that Alyson Shotz Mirror Fence was the most stunning out of all the sculptures. He talked about how the piece made an average thing found in suburbia something worth looking at. In this version there was also obviously false grass which added to the surreal vibe the fence already gives. He also talked about how the mirror effect of the fence made it almost blend into the grass and trees surrounding it. This art piece is literally a reflection of any community it is in and because of this it does not matter if its surroundings are a sculpture park in New York city or the mountains of Hudson Valley it still fits. What surrounds the sculpture does give the piece a different overall effect. When the structure was in Queens it was surrounded by urban structures and the busy life of a city. The fence was placed in the middle of civilization. This scenery caused the piece to reflect the very lived in community around it. This made the piece have a much more apparent meaning about suburban life. It felt more eerie because the unusual fence was right next to a community where your mind could contrast it to. When you see this piece closer to civilization the idea of a real fence is much closer to your mind then if you were to see it in the mountains. This causes less freedom for other thoughts on what the piece can be about and really ties it to the idea of being a commentary on suburbanism and the American dream. When you see this piece in the Hudson Valley at Storm King Art Center there is more room for interpretation. The practically untouched landscape of a state park gives a much different perspective than an urban community does. At Storm King it is also in a place with many other sculptures. A sculpture park in the city might be dedicated to art but there is still so much else around the art for it to be the only thing to capture the attention. Having your art showcased in a small sculpture park in a city is a bit different than hundreds of acres solely dedicated to sculpture art with no other man made objects around other than other artist art. Storm King Art Center also places each sculpture in the perfect place for the piece. When the Mirror Fence was placed in its permanent home at Storm King Art center while the actual piece itself didn’t change much the scenery completely changed the artwork's meaning. While the fence still feels like a commentary of the American dream and suburban life it seems to have more meaning now. When placed in the extremely rural surroundings of Storm King Mountain other ideas of what the piece could mean come up. The Mirror Fence now reflects untouched nature which is much different from a manmade city. The idea of this sculpture being a commentary on the American dream is now a bit harder to recognize when it’s so removed from human made structures and towns. The piece now feels out of place in a way. The idea of suburbia in the farthest place from it. This also fits though because the mirror quality of the fence makes it out of place in suburbia anyways. The sculpture almost feels like a warning of what could happen to this state park. A warning about how it could be developed and sectioned into land for people to live on. The mirror aspect makes it feel like a ghost of this idea. At Storm King Art Center there's more room for your mind to focus on the technical side of the piece. How it reflects the trees, mountains, and animals passing by. The calmness of its surroundings let you sit with the piece more and really admire its technical side. In the context of its Hudson Valley surroundings the artwork's purpose of being a lens becomes more clear. People love to take photos of nature and what better way to do that than through the unexpected and unique structure that is Mirror Fence. Due to the Mirror Fence’s reflective surface it adapts to any environment it’s put in, however the meaning of the piece slightly changes depending on location.

While the location of the piece might affect how the piece itself is viewed, the artwork's 

location is also affected by the piece. Alyson Shotz’s Mirror Fence adds enrichment and culture to the mountains of the Hudson Valley along with the many other sculptures in Storm King Art Center. The sculptures in Storm King Art Center also give tourism to the area and money to the New York state parks so they can be better looked after. Alyson Shotz’s Mirror Fence also makes the viewer more aware of the untouched nature surrounding them. This sculpture is unique in the way it incorporates its surroundings in a way that makes them such a big part and meaning of the piece. Looking at the fence means you are also looking at your surroundings because of the fence's mirror exterior. In a way, Alyson Shotz’s Mirror Fence is calling its surroundings an art piece of their own. The artwork reminds the viewer of the beauty and importance of nature and why we must protect it. Alyson Shotz Mirror Fence is a both technically and artistically fascinating sculpture that not only influences the community it is put in but is influenced by the community it resides in. Everything about this art piece makes it a truly fascinating structure to behold.