What is environmental art?

The term “environmental art” includes a great number of artforms and goes by many different names.  This term can be used to describe outdoor art, land art, large scale earthworks, artwork that is about the environment, or art created by the environment (Bower, n.d.).  Environmental art often assumes an activist tone that advocates for the protection of the environment, however, many environmental artists simply desire to enjoy and celebrate the beauty of nature.  The contemporary artists included in this study have each immersed their craft in the natural world for their own unique purposes.

Large, collaborative earthworks.

Sometimes environmental artwork is large in scale and requires several collaborators to complete.  Some examples of large scale, collaborative artwork in this collection include Agnes Denes’ (n.d.) Tree Mountain, a massive, intricately organized tree planting which “affirms humanity's commitment to the future well being of ecological, social and cultural life on the planet” (Denes, n.d.); Doug and Mike Starn’s (2014) Big Bambú, a seventy foot long fishing boat that rests on the leaves of a bamboo canopy in Teshima, Japan made entirely of bamboo by a group of volunteers; and Nils-Udo’s The Nest (Greenmuseum.org, 2010), a large, round nest made of earth, stones, birches, and grass.

Solitary, meditative artwork.

For some artists, environmental art is more solitary and meditative in nature.  Such pieces include Hillary Fayle’s (2012) Stitch Work, a series of intricately embroidered leaves; Michael Grab’s (2013) Winter 2013, a collection of photographs documenting a season of his stone balancing; Andy Goldworthy’s Rowan Leaves Laid Around a Hole, a vibrant and mysterious assembly of red and yellow leaves (Artnet Worldwide Coorporation, 2014); Matthew Harding’s (2014) Symbiosis, steel sculptures of dandelions resting in a field; and Fesson Ludovic’s Mirror of Water, a simple, symmetrical piece composed by branches and their reflection in water (De Barros, 2013).

To better understand the motives of these artists, let us take a closer look at artists Hillary Fayle and Michael Grab. Fayle was studying embroidery at the Manchester Metropolitan University in England when she began incorporating found objects into her artwork.  Upon returning to her home in Western New York, Fayle completed a series of embroidered leaves.  She made the decision to work with leaves because they are renewable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly. The leaves are coated in a non-toxic preservative that protects them and makes them resilient enough to withstand her meticulous needle and thread.  The play between the delicate veins of the leaves and Fayle’s intricate needlework offers viewers a quiet, meditative space.  Fayle continues to produce custom-made embroidered leaves and is currently pursuing her MFA at Virginia Commonwealth University (Fayle, 2012).

At the intersection of installation, meditation, and environmental art we find the peaceful stone balancing of Michael Grab.  These site-specific pieces are held together only by gravity, or, as Grab would put it, “gravity glue” (Grab, 2013).  His winter series includes balanced stones and chunks of ice serenely situated in rapid rivers, still ponds, city streets, and mountainsides.  For Michael, stone balancing is a medium for experiencing stillness and learning important life lessons.  He places greater importance on the process of creating his work than he does the final product.  And what exactly is his process?  In his own, very simple words: “Put one rock on top of another rock” (Grab, 2013).

The permanent vs. ephemeral qualities of environmental artwork.

    Some environmental artwork is built to last, and some is meant to vanish into its surroundings over time.  This is illustrated by contrasting Marco Cassagrande’s (2012) Sandworm, a “a willow cathedral finely tuned to celebrate the site specific conditions of the Wenduine tidal beaches” (Casagrande, 2012) that visitors use for picnics, relaxation, and meditation with Sonja Hinrichsen’s (2014) Snow Drawings at Rabbit Ears Pass, a large, elaborate drawing in the snow created by the footprints of volunteers from surrounding Colorado communities.

    Casagrande’s Sandworm is a delicate, yet permanent structure on the beaches of the Wenduine coastline in Belgium.  The undulating, organic structure is approximately forty-five meters long, ten meters wide, and ten meters high.  Casagrande worked with a team of architects and locals over the course of four weeks.  His aim was to create what he terms “‘weak architecture’- a human made structure that wishes to become part of nature through flexibility and organic presence” (Casagrande, 2012).  Sandworm remains a destination for Belgian beachgoers today.

For Sonja Hinrichsen, wide open landscapes and frozen lakes are the best canvases for creating large scale works of environmental art.  In a project called Snow Drawings, Hinrichsen creates ephemeral designs by strapping on her snowshoes and walking for hours at a time in the freshly fallen powder.  For these snow drawings at Rabbit Ears Pass, Hinrichsen brought together a group of volunteers from Steamboat Springs and Hayden, Colorado.  The group worked for two weekends to create this monumental piece.  To share this artwork with the largest possible audience, it is necessary to document the snow drawings immediately.  Because artwork such as this can only be view in its entirety from above and may be erased by a few hours of snowfall, Hinrichsen collaborated with aerial photographers to document the creation and the ephemeral final product at Rabbit Ears Pass.

Why study environmental artwork?

    Through studying environmental artwork, this researcher’s understanding of contemporary art has been enriched.  The genre of environmental art requires the viewer to carefully consider and place special value on the process, materials, and location for creating a work of art.  The artists in this genre create their work not only for aesthetic value, but to achieve specific purposes.  Creating environmental art can be about connecting with nature, meditating, providing the public with a gathering place, inventing ways for the environment to self-advocate, or simply celebrating the beauty of our planet.  The way that environmental artists use their craft to meet their needs and the needs of others is a wonderful example of a progressive, twenty-first century approach to creativity.

References

Artnet Worldwide Corporation. (2014). Rowan leaves laid around a hole. Retrieved from http://www.artnet.com/artists/andy-goldsworthy/rowan-leaves-laid-around-a-hole-yorkshire-eHcaMqPgsQFLwgG1yrzhSQ2

Bower, S. (n.d.). A profusion of terms. Retrieved July 17, 2014, from http://greenmuseum.org/generic_content.php?ct_id=306

Casagrande, M. (2012). Sandworm. Retrieved from http://sandwormcasagrande.blogspot.com/

De Barros, A. (2013, August 27). Back to nature. Retrieved from http://illusion.scene360.com/art/47023/back-to-nature/

Denes, A. (n.d.). Tree mountain; a living time capsule. Retrieved July 17, 2014, from http://www.agnesdenesstudio.com/works4.html

Dia Art Foundation. (2014). Spiral Jetty. Retrieved from http://www.diaart.org/sites/main/spiraljetty

Dorf, M. (2014).  Axiom and simulation. Retrieved from http://www.dorfphoto.net/axiom.html

Fayle, H. (2012). Stitch work. Retrieved from http://hillaryfayle.wordpress.com/lovestitching/

Grab, M. (2014). Gravity glue. Retrieved from http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gravityglue.com%2Fabout%2F

Greenmuseum.org. (2010). Nils-Udo. Retrieved from http://www.greenmuseum.org/content/artist_index/artist_id-36.html

Harding, M. (2014). Symbiosis. Retrieved from http://matthewharding.com.au/work/symbiosis

Hinrichsen, S. (2014). Snow drawings. Retrieved from http://www.sonja-hinrichsen.com/portfolio-post/snow-drawings-at-rabbit-ears-pass-colorado-2012/#5

Lubow, A. (2005, November). 35 who made a difference: Andy Goldsworthy. Retrieved from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/35-who-made-a-difference-andy-goldsworthy-114067437/?no-ist

Prince, A. (2013, February 20). Earth as art: 'how did nature do that?' Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2013/02/20/167654990/earth-as-art-how-did-nature-do-that?sc=tw&cc=share

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Starn, D., & Starn, M. (2014). Big Bambú in Rome. Retrieved from http://www.dmstarn.com/big_bambu_teshima.html