8 Unforgettable Examples of Land Art
http://www.theworldgeography.com/2013/02/land-art.html
Land art or Earth art is an art movement in which landscape and the work of art are inextricably linked. It is also an art form that is created in nature, using natural materials such as soil, rock (bed rock, boulders, stones), organic media (trees, grass) and water. The works frequently exist in the open, located well away from civilization, left to change and erode under natural conditions.
1. Forest Guitar, ArgentinaBreaking up the flat agricultural areas of Argentina's Pampas is a guitar formed entirely out of trees. Stretching for 2/3 of a mile (1km), the multi-colored instrument was created by one Argentine farmer to memorialize his wife. Crushed by the loss of his love, a few years later Pedro Martin Ureta (owner) began working on designing a guitar in his field that could be seen from above by airplane. He settled on the design because his late wife loved the instrument and he wanted to memorialize her on his land.Working tirelessly to plant and cultivate the trees, Ureta created a perfect guitar shape, complete with a star-shaped hole in the middle. Using mostly cypress trees to form the outline, Ureta used blue eucalyptus trees to accent the strings on the neck of the guitar. Easily visible from airplanes, the guitar brings joy to many who fly over the Pampas. [link, map]2. The Green Cathedral, NetherlandsThe Green Cathedral or De Groene Kathedraal located near Almere Netherlands, is an artistic planting of Lombardy poplars (Populus nigra italica) that mimics the size and shape of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Reims, France. The Green Cathedral is 150 m (490 ft) long and 75 m (246 ft) wide, and the mature poplar trees are approximately 30 m (98 ft) tall.The work was planted by Marinus Boezem (b. 1934) on April 16, 1987 in Southern Flevoland, Nederland. The land art project was installed on polder land. 178 trees were planted on a knoll, a half-metre above the surrounding area. Over the following years, some trees were replaced due to deer damage, and stone was laid in the floor to echo the cross ribs and support beams of the cathedral.Now mature, the cathedral has become a location for weddings, funerals and meetings. Nearby, a clearing has been made in a young beech forest so that the open space is in the shape of the same cathedral. Boezem suggests, as the poplars decline, the beech trees around the clearing will grow to create the church once more thus insuring a cyclical evolution of growth, decline and growth. [link, map]3. Spiral Jetty, USASpiral Jetty is an earthwork sculpture constructed in April, 1970 that is considered to be the central work of American sculptor Robert Smithson.Built on the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake near Rozel Point in Utah entirely of mud, salt crystals, basalt rocks and water, Spiral Jetty forms a 1,500-foot-long (460 m), 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) counterclockwise coil jutting from the shore of the lake. |
| Visitors walk around the submerged Spiral Jetty link |
The water level of the lake varies with precipitation in the mountains surrounding the area, revealing the jetty in times of drought and submerging it during times of normal precipitation. Originally black basalt rock against ruddy water, Spiral Jetty is now largely white against pink due to salt encrustation. [link, map] 4. Heart-Shaped Meadow, UK
An English farmer created a heart-shaped meadow surrounded by oak trees in memory of his wife (he lost her 17 years ago), that was unknown to the world until a balloonist spotted it. This beautiful meadow is located in the south English countryside.Winston Howes (farmer) spent a week planting 6,000 oak saplings and also planted a hedge for added privacy. He designed the monument so the point of the heart is toward Wotton Hill, where his wife was born. The hidden meadow was a family secret until July 2012. [link]5. Sky Garden Crater, IrelandLiss Ard Gardens Resort (southern Ireland) includes a magnificent 'Crater' - designed by James Turrell, the extraordinary American artist who is world-renowned for his works on the theme of 'Light', and the Swiss architect Gert Burla. The Crater was created for the Irish skies to be appreciated by the spectators lying on the stone structures at the bottom - the dome-effect that is created in the elliptical frame is truly an unforgettable experience. [link, map]6. Broken Circle/Spiral Hill, NetherlandsFor the group exhibition of contemporary art Sonsbeek '71 in the Dutch city of Arnhem, Robert Smithson realized Broken Circle and Spiral Hill in an inactive sand-pit in Emmen. On a conical mound, a spiral path runs counterclockwise. At the top of the Spiral Hill is an observation platform, from which the best view of Broken Circle, located on the edge of the flooded gravel pit.Two circular segments - a dam and a canal - are laid out around an inner circle, which is divided into two segments of water and earth. That which is water in the one half, is earth in the other half. ln Broken Circle, two semicircles correspond to one another formally and are simultaneously opposed in terms of material, somewhat removed from the center of the circle lies a large boulder. The rock is one of the largest of its kind in Holland. lt was carried here during the ancient times by a glacier which ran diagonally across present-day Holland.The sand-pit was already intended as a recreation area when Smithson chose the site. In reaction to the local population's acceptance of the project, Smithson's contribution to the exhibition was maintained as a permanent installation. [link, map]
7. Northala Fields, UKNorthala Fields is an award-winning country-style park located in Northolt, Greater London. It was opened in 2008 and consists of four artificial hills standing next to the A40 Western Avenue, as well as several fishing lakes and a large field area.The hills were constructed using rubble from the demolition of the original Wembley Stadium, which was closed in 2000 and demolished in 2003. The park was created as part of the Northolt and Greenford Country Park project, and backs onto the older Rectory Park.The name "Northala" is how the old manor of Northall (Northolt) was recorded in the Domesday book in 1086. It is situated on what was the Royal Borough of Kensington Playing Fields after being leased to them in 1938. The section of the Ealing Road that formed the eastern perimeter was then renamed Kensington Road. [link, map]8. Bunjil Geoglyph, AustraliaThis photo shows geoglyph called Bunjil, which in aboriginal language means Eagle. It was constructed in 2006 by world-renowned Australian artist Andrew Rogers at the You Yangs National Park in Victoria, Australia.The creature has a wing span of 100 metres (330 ft) and 1500 tonnes of rock were used to construct it. [map]
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