Travels

Earthworks

Two days ago we visited two ginormous earthwork projects. I love seeing art in unassuming places without the hype and glory of the museum/gallery setting. Somehow, this lets me respond to things in a more personal and direct way.

In both of these, it was thrilling to see how we (the group of residents) responded with childlike glee and playfulness to the pieces.

1- Tree Mountain by Agnes Denes [http://www.strataproject.org/agnes-denes.html]

A difficult piece to photograph because of its scale. So I am adding a satellite view from Google earth for some perspective; click on it to see a larger view (its worth the trouble).

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What is most striking to me, as with many Earthworks, is that both these projects are about reclamation. The idea of the land reclaiming sites used for commercial or industrial purposes, over time, much much time. These works are interventions that bring the human scale into this process, not destructively but in some kind of balance with natural processes. Ultimately, the work is about optimism and a firm belief that the marks that humans leave on this planet will change, the Earth will persist despite human ignorance.

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2- Up and Under/Yltä ja Alta by Nancy Holt [http://www.strataproject.org/nancy-holt.html]

A piece that was absolute joy to photograph, the possibilities were endless. We played and we played; an excellent field trip.

I will let the work do all the talking today, it is worth listening to it.