Today’s artists often refrain from imprinting their vision upon the land, instead bringing the soil into the gallery as an archive of nature-human interactions.
Land Art
Posted inOpinion
Why We Never Visited Michael Heizer’s City
We counted down the minutes until we hit the stretch of highway closest to the installation, but we didn’t stop.
Posted inArt
Some Important Questions About Artist Legacies
How is legacy defined, who defines it, whom does it serve?
Posted inArt
Art Between Land and Self
How do we consider land-inspired art in an age when huge swaths of our shared world are being clear cut, mined, drilled, and desertified?
Posted inOpinion
Michael Heizer’s Empty Empire
Despite his reportedly encyclopedic knowledge of the region’s geologic and mineral makeup, Heizer has displayed a baffling incuriousness about the larger story of the land he digs, cuts, and plows.
Posted inArt
After 50 Years, Michael Heizer’s Colossal Desert Installation Is Finally Finished
Work on the colossal land art project in the remote Nevada desert began in 1970.
Posted inArt
New Generation of Land Artists Embodies a Call for Action
From sites to studios to systems, the nature of earthworks has changed since the 1960s and ’70s.
Posted inNews
Land Artist Nancy Holt’s Papers Acquired by Smithsonian Archives
Also included are plans for two site-specific projects that were never fully realized: “Sky Mound” (1984–) and “Solar Web” (1984–89).
Posted inNews
A Public Vulva Sculpture in Brazil Protests Violence Against Women
Juliana Notari’s “Diva,” a massive, concrete and resin sculpture built on a hillside in Pernambuco, has prompted outrage from conservative groups.
Posted inNews
An Italian Land Artist Carved Joe Biden’s Face Into a Field of Wheat
Dario Gambarin created a portrait of the Democratic presidential candidate in a field near Verona with “Jump & Fly, Biden 2020.” But why?
Posted inFilm
A Transportive Film Series Spotlights Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson
The films created by the legendary artists move beyond pure documentation, adding layers of context and revealing insights into their respective practices.
Posted inArt
Robert Smithson’s Experiments in Entropy
Revisiting Smithson’s earthworks “Spiral Jetty” and “Partially Buried Woodshed,” which have dramatically changed 50 years later.
