Since the 1960s, artists have tried to go beyond the limits of ordinary art and create new artistic representations. Land art appeared in a major part of the United States around 1970 and is now gaining great importance in contemporary art. This new trend consists of sculpting landscapes in an aesthetic way, transforming them into an artistic environment. This natural aspect makes ecological art special and beautiful - this new form of contemporary art also contributes to environmental conservation. Today, the photographic representations of Land Art are appreciated worldwide and this is what makes it so popular.
A brief history of Land art
Environmental art was first seen in October 1968 at the Eathworks exhibition in New York. The original depiction of Land art was made on a desert in Western America. Robert Smithson became the emblematic figure of this type of art with the successful publication of his essay The Sedimentation of the Mind: Earth projects. Also, Willoughby Sharp's Earth art exhibition at the Andrew Dickson White Museum of Art in February 1969 brought Land art to an international level. This art in question is perpetuated by several current artists and is the beauty of contemporary art.
Particularity of ecological art
Land art is considered to be a free art form, which is outside of galleries and museums. Artists who specialise in ecological art work on untouched spaces to let their imagination run wild and produce a considerable artistic work. Land art requires the use of naturally occurring materials such as sand, ice, stones, leaves and wood. Indeed, process art is a form of movement for the protection of natural environments and for the preservation of the environment.
Diversity of artistic representations through Land art
The great artists known in ecological art exhibit their works in natural environments, their creations are often seen through videos and photographs. Here are 3 selections of great artistic representations in Land art, to discover. Firstly, there is Andy Goldsworthy's Striding Arches, which consists of a series of large self-supporting arches on top of a hill. The artist used up to 31 blocks of red sandstone to create this monumental work. On the other hand, there is the construction of a wooden village by Tadashi Kawamata. Kawamata has built tree houses in parallel. In addition, the land art theorist has built an art form on the shore of a lake in Emmen. It is a symbolic representation of yin and yang.