Throughout history,
from Neolithic
man through to modern day urban artists, we as
human species have left our mark on the landscape. We have “aspired to leave
our mark, through inscribing our observations and gestures within the
landscape, in an attempt to translate and transgress the space within which we
find ourselves.” (Kastner, 1998, p.15). However, in more recent years, artists
have begun looking at the landscape as not only a work of art in itself, but as
object of sorts - “used as a medium of artistic expression” (Honour & Fleming,
1984, p.858), creating an intimate connection with oneself, and the environment
they find themselves in.
Two artists who have
“freed themselves from the necessity to exhibit work in a gallery”(Stanford,
2004, The New York Times) are Robert Smithson and Andy
Goldsworthy. Both men have created groundbreaking work, which together have
altered the artistic culture of the post 1970’s. By focusing on Smithson’s work
‘Spiral Jetty’ (1970) and Goldsworthy’s installation ‘Hanging Tree’ (2007), one
can see that this new form of ephemeral art has in fact evolved from simply
being humble works of art, to becoming integral part of the landscape itself.
During the time Smithson created
‘Spiral Jetty’ in 1970, he was part of a new wave of artists who were looking
to push the boundaries of the “current structure of art” (Hobbs, 1981, p.55), such as Henry Moore,
Robert Morris and Yves Klein. It’s said to have been the “brawling days of
abstract expressionism” (Kastner, 1998, p.13) where artists were “seeking less
elitist art” (Hobbs, 1981, p. 55) wanting
to bring art to a more open minded republican audience. Through “dismantling
the socio-political authority” (Kastner, 1998, p12), which had been enforced
over art practice, it encouraged the usurpation of each individuals creative
practice. Interestingly Goldsworthy’s “sculptures grew out of modernism, and in
particular 1960’s art”, (Kastner, 1998, p.20) seeing these ground breaking
artists as a stimulus to create work “outside the then current structure of art
itself”. (Hobbs, 1981, p.55)
Despite being a key contributor of
this pioneering movement, Smithson understood the importance of exhibiting his
work within the context of a Gallery exhibition, where by "eliminating the
distance (between the work and the viewer) is essential to aesthetic
contemplation” (Fried, 1968, p.116). He did so through drawings, architectural
plans and photos of ‘Spiral Jetty’, which were all exhibited along side a short
film. These gave viewers the unique opportunity to observe ‘Spiral Jetty’ from
numerous new perspectives – enabling one to comprehend the scale of the work,
which fluctuates depending on “one’s capacity to be conscious of the
actualities of perception” (Kastner, 1998, p.216). Through the creation of the said
film, the viewer could observe the “dialectic between the site and the none site”,
(Shapiro, 1995, p.2) enabling insight into how one created the other. Conversely
though, Goldsworthy argues that “the contemporary gallery is not natural, it is
not nature”(Malpas, 2001, p.21). Kastner (1998, p.69) further debates this by
stating that Goldsworthy’s’ sculptures “intervene with nature, heightening our
awareness of natural beauty of nature… and explore its endures and ephemeral
quality’s”. So as a consequence, documentation in the form of photographs is
paramount in capturing these ephemeral moments in time. William Maples (2001,
p.21) suggests that Goldsworthy’s works, are “as much about the surroundings as
the sculptures themselves”. As a result of this, when in the context of a
Gallery Exhibition, his pieces are forced to “breath without their natural
surroundings”. Maples (2001, p.21) maintains that because nature is such an
integral factor of Goldsworthy’s art practice, his “shows are something of a
disappointment”. This distinct disconnect between the photographs and the
natural sculptures themselves, capture and emphasize Goldsworthy’s intimate connection
with his natural surroundings even further.
Goldsworthy’s sculpture ‘Hanging tree’
is a permanent installation at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. However, the
artist has used photography to enhance the viewers experience with his
sculpture. Viewers are offered the unique opportunity to explore the changes in
the surroundings, offer birds eye perspectives of the piece and see new
intricate details that may have been missed by merely viewing the monument at
the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
Though the secondary
documentation of both ‘Spiral Jetty’ and ‘Hanging Tree’ are integral, the
actual sculptures themselves are both “testament to mans dominance of the
landscape” (Kastner, 1998, p.58). Goldsworthy’s ‘Hanging Tree’ was commissioned
to be “largest
and most ambitious project ever curated” (www.YSP.co.uk,
2007) in the renowned ‘Yorkshire Sculpture Park’. Goldsworthy took his inspiration for this
project from the Ha Ha ruins on the grounds of the Sculpture Park. He decided
to resurrect the ruins into sculptural commemoration of the Neolithic
structures - which were originally created by farmers to enclose sheep. From
the debris, Goldsworthy created “monuments in the landscape of the memory of
the toil of hill farmers and the Cumbrian agricultural tradition” (Goldsworthy,
2007, p.9). Goldsworthy’s work is so “tenderly in tune with nature” (Malpas,
2001, p.28), that working with a more permanent sculpture took his work in a
new direction, within his ‘Enclosure’ series. But despite ‘Hanging Trees’ lacking
Goldsworthy’s usual ephemeral qualities, “the
solid appearance carried its own history of movement, having once been part if
the earths lucid energy”(Goldsworthy, 2007, p.10) - becoming part of the
symphony of the landscape, rather than a manmade scar.
Contrastingly, Smithson’s ‘Spiral Jetty’ is considered by
critics such as Chianese (2013, p.20) to be far less “environmentally conscious” as the
stylised helix unsettles the border of the Great Salt Lake (Utah) where it is
situated. The piece takes “ownership
and dominance of the area in an attempt to connect and infuse nature’s power with
the human creature” (Chianese, 2013, p.20). During the
building process, Smithson chose to unsettle and disrupt the ground
purposefully so that the route along the Jetty couldn’t be nonchalantly walked
along. Instead, the decision to make the road treacherous lay with “Smithson’s
interest in the stumbling aspect of walking - forcing one to pay attention to
where one is going” (Hobbs, 1981, p.54). This is ironic, as the jetty is
“essentially pointless” (Chianese, 2013, p.20) with the end of
the jetty being isolated 1400 ft from the shore. Although the piece is arguably
an unnatural manifestation in the Great Salt Lake, it is in fact entirely made of mud, salt crystals, basalt
rocks and water – all natural occurring minerals in this area in Utah.
At first the contrast between the spiral’s dark rocks and
the deep red coloured water was distinctive under the surface, and remained so
for the last three decades. Though, when the jetty recently re-emerged due to
lowering sea levels, the previously distinctive contrast was now “softened, as
the jetty became encrusted with salts from the Lake” (Chianese, 2013, p.20).
This new emergence
suggests an opposing point to Chianese’s argument. It perhaps signifies that
Smithson did in fact consider the natural elements of his work – surrendering the
piece to “the mercy of
the lake’s salt composition and seasonal weather variations.” (Llorach, Mas Context). Llorach goes on
further to describe in detail how “once constructed, ‘Spiral Jetty’ is
often submerged in water, only to be seen from the air or nearby unpaved road.
During times of drought, the spiral emerges creating a blanket of white
crystallized salt, which forms as the water evaporates. The chemical
composition and high salinity of the water plus the presence of sand oolites
and calcium carbonate (hydrated lime) taints the spiral with unusual shades of
orange, red and pink and purple and violet”.
Smithson had a “deep response to the landscape” (Honour & Fleming, 1984, p.858) of Rozel Point, which is situated on the
northeast shore of the Great Salt Lake. He himself alleged: “As I looked at the
site, it reverberated out to the horizons only to suggest an immobile cyclone.
The shore of the lake became the edge of the sun, a boiling curve, an explosion
rising into fiery prominence” (Honour & Fleming, 1984,
p.858). Smithson’s ‘Spiral Jetty’ was not intended to scar the landscape, but rather
to express Smithson’s intimate feeling with it. Furthermore, Smithson’s choice of area (Rozel
Point), was a result of his discovery of the distinctive
dark red of the water and the fact that it was
an almost unreachable region of the lake. Thus making “the
trip to see the artwork (a way of) bringing people to a place they would not
normally experience” (Llorach, Mas Context). Smithson’s decision to
utilize and enhance the unique red waters of the Great Salt Lake wasn’t made
ephemerally, as the colour red is a reoccurring theme throughout art history.
It has been argued that “red is the most joyful and
dreadful thing in the physical universe” (Holt,
1979). This further backs up Llorach’s (Mas Context) point, that similarly
to Goldsworthy, Smithson is also in tune with nature - enhancing somewhat the
already grand Salt Lake with “the 'Jetty' acting as a vortex
that draws in everything in the landscape around it” (Stanford, 2004, The New
York Times)
Both Smithson and
Goldsworthy have produced works of art which have “completely transformed the
natural physical world” (Honour & Fleming,
1984, p.858) through innovative installations. Both creations work as dramatic
stand-alone pieces, yet at the same time succeed in being in-tune with nature.
Still, years on, both artists’ work, continue to change and grow with the
landscapes that inspired and influenced their creation.
Bibliography
Chianese, R. L.
(2013) Spiral Jetty. American Scientist, Jan-Feb,
p.20
Fried, M. (1968) Art and Objecthood in Minimal Art. New
york: Battcock.
Goldsworthy, A.
(2007) Andy Goldsworthy: Enclosure. London:
Thames and Hudson.
Hobbs, R. (1981) Robert Smithson: Sculpture. London: Cornell University Press.
Holt, N. (1979) The Writtings of Robert Smithson Essays with
Illistration. [Online] New York University Press. (6 December 2014)
Avalible from:
http://www.debbiejlee.com/smithsontwo.pdf
Honour, H. &
Fleming, F. (1984) A World History of
Art. Great Britain: Laurence King Publishing.
Kastner, G. (1998) Land and Environment Art. London:
Phaidon Press Limited.
Llorach, E. (?) Anthropocene: Through the Eyes
of Gabriele Basiico, Robert Smithson and Gordon Matta-clark. [Online]. Mas
Context. (6thDecember 2014) Available from: http://www.mascontext.com/tag/spiral-jetty/
Malpas, W. (2001) Andy Goldsworthy in Close up. Kent:
Cresent Moon Publishing.
Sanford, M. (2004) The Salt of the Earth. The
New York Times. [Online] 13 January (Accessed 8 December 2014) Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/13/arts/design/13JETT.html
Shapiro, G. (1995) Earthwards: Robert Smithson and Art after
Babel. London:
University of
California Press.
Yorkshire Sculpture
Park. (2007) Andy Goldsworthy Exhibition. [online] Yorkshire
Sculpture Park. (Accessed 5 December 2014) Available from: http://www.ysp.co.uk/exhibitions/andy-goldsworthy-exhibition
No comments:
Post a Comment