Essay plan

Time to get cracking on writing “The ESSAY” for this term. I love doing the research and looking out for something interesting and hopefully new to say – well it will be new to me, if not to the lecturer!

My topic is: "The land is not the setting for the work, but part of the work – Walter De Maria, land artist. Discuss the role of context/location in relation to historical and contemporary art or design practice, referring to at least three examples.

At least three examples, and up to six. So, in as-they-came-to-me order: 1, Walter De Maria’s Lightning Field (New Mexico).

2, Dani Karavan’s Ma’alot (Cologne).

3, Richard Long’s mud paintings, for example the Heaven and Earth trigrams in the first room of the recent show at the Tate.

4, something by David Nash – maybe his wooden boulder -

And passing reference to Robert Smithson’s non-sites, James Turrell’s Sky Spaces, Chris Drury’s work (the dew ponds?), maybe even Andy Goldsworthy and Christo.

5, perhaps Claudi Casanovas’ Els Vencuts – no, too much of a historical monument – could you argue that it commemorates local heroes, hence that a sense of locality and history is part of, necessary to, the work? You could say that of Maya Lin’s Vietnam memorial too – how does commemoration fit together with “the land” – can “the land” be a mental place, a shared history rather than a mapped or perceived geographical place? That’s going a bit deep for 2500 words – and why don’t I just take the easier, straight-forward route...

I’ll be touching on the idea of siting sculpture (rather than memorial objects) outside – especially in sculpture parks; of secular pilgrimage; and the origins of “land art” in that tumultuous time, the late 60s. (I was there! – but just waking up to art, via reproductions of Chagall in the area of the university library where I went to study. Nearby, though (in Vancouver), Robert Smithson was doing a Glue Pour.)

Process, materials, minimalism, these will get a mention. How do they get accepted as artists (and paid), and how does their work translate to the gallery situation...

That’s the plan. Coming soon – more information on the artists. But first I have to go clean the fridge, scrub the oven with a toothbrush, that kind of thing ...