Earth Work

• A large-scale outdoor installation

• Often extending over great distances in time and space

• Earthworks were part of the wider conceptual art movement in the 1960s and 1970s

• Also called Land Art or Earth Art

• Transformation of a natural site into an aesthetic statement

• A response to the commercialization and commodification of art in the 1960s

• Large-scale, site-specific installations that interact and respond to the natural environment

• Land artists often use natural materials such as rocks, wood, leaves, and soil to create their works

• Temporary and ephemeral

• Subject to natural processes such as erosion, decay, and weathering

• Break out of the confines of the museum and gallery setting

• The intention is “site-specificity” in nature, existing in the public realm

• Not to be treated or sold like conventional sculptures, paintings

Robert Smithson

• 1970

• Northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake in Utah, USA

• 6,000 tons of black basalt rocks and earth

• 500-foot-long and 15-foot-wide counterclockwise coil jutting into the lake's waters

• Entropy, geology, and the concept of time

Walter De Maria

• Lightning Fields

• 1977

• New Mexico, USA

• An area of one mile by one kilometer, comprising 400 stainless steel poles arranged in a grid pattern

• Each pole stands 20 feet tall and is spaced 220 feet apart

• Designed to attract and interact with lightning strikes during storms

• Remote location/minimalistic design encourages contemplation, visitors experience the vastness of the landscape and the interplay between art and nature

Andy Goldsworthy

• English sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist

• Produces site-specific sculptures and land art situated in natural and urban settings

• The interplay between natural materials and the environment, and often incorporates natural elements such as wind, rain, and sunlight into his works.

• He works primarily with natural materials such as stones, leaves, and ice

• Characterized by its intricate and delicate nature, as well as its emphasis on the process
  over product

• Installations are often subject to natural processes such as wind, rain, and erosion

• Temporary