Doug Aitken's Mirror Hot Air Balloon Soars Over Massachusetts

Doug Aitken's New Horizon, a 30-meter-tall mirror-surfaced hot air balloon, is flying over Massachusetts through July 28. Commissioned by the nonprofit Trustees and curated by Pedro Alonzo under the Art and the Landscape Programme, the piece invites artists to create site-specific works interacting with the environment. Aitken, who has previously placed sculptures on the Pacific Ocean floor and used mirrors in his work, called the balloon a 'flying monument'—a departure from static public art. The balloon will traverse the state in seven stops: Long Point, Farm Institute, Holmes Reservation, deCordova Sculpture Park, Castle Hill at Crane Estate, Field Farm, and Naumkeag. It will host conversations, concerts, performances, sunset viewing gatherings, and tethered short flights. Aitken collaborated with friends at NASA to develop the reflective, durable material, and the balloon features hand-sewn LED lights that can be remotely activated to create patterns at night. Trustees CEO Barbara Erickson said the project exceeded expectations.