RUNNINH HEAD: EARTHWORKS OR LAND ART MOVEMENT

Earthworks or Land Art Movement

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Earthworks or Land Art Movement

Introduction

Earth Art, Earthworks or Land Art is an art movement towards the end of which America has emerged in the '60s and early 70s, where the landscape and works of art are inextricably linked. The works frequently exist in the open, placed far from civilization, left to change and erosion under normal conditions. Several of the early work, created in the deserts of Nevada, New Mexico, Utah or Arizona were ephemeral in nature and exist now only as a visual record or photographic documentation (Aston 2002).

The artists use natural elements to create their works. They act directly on nature. They want to enhance memory and the past timeless places, mostly wild. They mark them by drawing lines, moving rocks. However, some artists include the nature of the external elements, or technological means to achieve their manufacturing works. The medium is the earth itself, but it is modified, moved, covered by something else (Max 2006).

Most achievements were made in the major American deserts, or in abandoned quarries, often on a monumental scale. The work falls into space and becomes one with that one. This dialogue with the environment has been hired by the minimalist movement and boasts an architectural space as an exhibition space and production. So there is more separation between the workshop and exhibition space. This notion of scale, often gigantic, causes the body in a rather special report with the work, all a game of scale is set up and is the basis of Land Art (Wilson 2002).

This game of scale causes the viewer "a floating existential", the viewer loses his bearings, and he is overwhelmed by the work. His perception of space is turned upside down. The viewer is no longer a spectator, it is also the discoverer. He must return to work and he discovers the browsing, walking inside it. Thus, it is part of the space-time of the work.

History

The movement was launched in October 1968 by the group exhibition 'Earthworks' at the Dwan Gallery in New York. In February 1969, Willoughby Sharp curate the historic exhibition "Art of the earth" (Wood, 1975). Perhaps the best known artist who worked in this genre was American Robert Smithson. His best known song and probably the most famous piece of art of all the earth, is Spiral Jetty (1970), for which Smithson took on the rocks , earth and algae to form a long spiral-shaped (1500 feet) pier penetration into the Great Salt Lake in Utah . What work, if any, costs obviously depend on water level fluctuation. Since its creation, the work was completely covered and then uncovered again, by water (Suzaan 2002).

Get off the artists in America relied mostly on wealthy patrons and private foundations to put their often costly projects. With the down turn sudden economic funds mid-70s these sources largely dried up. With the death of Robert Smithson in a plane crash in 1973 ...