“Earthworks is a broad subgenre of the even broader category of outdoor sculpture and performance known as land art. “People still think of land art as primarily an American phenomenon, with a few select male white artists doing big projects in the southwest,” said Miwon Kwon, an art historian and professor emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles. The survey she curated with Philipp Kaiser at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in 2012, “Ends of the Earth,” challenged these and other preconceptions.”
Source:
Diehl, T. (2023, September 4). Land Art Today, beyond Cowboys with bulldozers. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/04/arts/design/land-art-environment-groundswell-women.html
Analysis:
Making the land into a piece of art is an interesting concept. I find it thought provoking because many, including myself, would consider the Earth a work of art. There is a reason we have national parks and we visit natural wonders of the world. I think that there are some pieces that can enhance what is already there or take barren land and beautify it with art. One approach that some of the artists take is inside of major cities, that seems less out of place. Land art in general is a statement and having it done right could be very impactful. It makes me thing of the Huffman Prairie Flying Field in Dayton, it is an empty field that could use a little more substance.
