25 October 2009

Land Art



For focus week I decided to pursue my interests in Land Art. I have always been interested in Land Art so I've selected several case studies that could be inspirational and benificial to my work. 

 Andrew Goldworthy

Inspirational art from Andrew Goldsworthy using  stones, rocks, trees, leaves and ice. 
My own words: I like what andrew goldsworthy has done with this collection of coloured leaves.

I like the princible of using natural material as art because the art itself is the environment.  An ice sculpture clinging to a tree which has been "trained" to form a sprial creates an interesting feature. 

 Patrick Dougherty




Dougherty’s works allude to nests, cocoons, hives,
 and lairs built by animals, as well as the [artificial] forms
 of huts, haystacks, and baskets, created by interweaving branches
and twigs together. Many of his works look ‘found’ rather than
made” Trained originally as a carpenter, Dougherty skipped
backward from the finished material of cut-and-dried wood straight
to the source: saplings grown, bent and built into magnificent
 works of natural and architectural sculpture. As part of this
 process his designs plan in elements of unpredictability, growth
 and eventual destruction – there is no attempt to maintain the
works beyond as certain point which are, eventually, left to
 return to natural states slowly and beautifully.
My words: The nature of the material he uses is palpable thus being able to bend and flex the wood to suit. This kind of construction is interesting and worth remembering for future ideas. His work is intentionally temporary and could easily be lost to nature if not maintained. Becuase of this, his work attaches a "sell by date" which makes it much more poignant.  

Other Landscape Art


The story of this strange land sculpture garden is almost
 as unusual as the curiously representational earth art found
within it. The so-called Lost Gardens of Heligan were once
overgrown, lost and forgotten but are now one of the most
 popular botanical gardens in the UK. One intrepid explorer
 took it upon himself to locate, uncover and restore the gardens
 to their former glory. To the amazement of locals the then-unused
land was brought back to full flower and became a significant
 boon for the local economy – the mud man and moss maiden shown above being also restored in the process.
My Words: I like these sculptures because they demonstrate the kinds of creativity you can fabricate out of the natural environment.

Growing Buildings




















 My own words:  This kind of construction appeals to me because I find its a very pure type of construction. I like the resourceful'ness and how the artist can still turn to nature to make something aw-inspiring.  The vision of making a structure composed of basic natural materials become sensational architecture, is truly creditable.

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