Land Art Post 1

For my drawing, I have decided to look into Land Art, using the book 'Land Art By Ben Tufnell - ISBN 1-85437-604-7' from this book I have now gathered enough information and artists to support my project.
The book was extremely clear to understand and each chapter represented a different part of Land Art.
I have written loads of notes on each chapter and to prove I have done this, I am going to put them up here...
Eventually I will also put up supporting images to go with the notes. Also, the notes shall be in the form of bullet points as that is how I learn !!

INRODUCTION

• 1968- Micheal Heizer (American) traveled in the southwest to El Mirage, a dry lake, to create new art. It provided a blank canvas. 'Compression Line' and other works produced on the lake involved open box like structures inserted into holes in the ground. Like Minimalist sculptures. 'Circular Surface Drawing' involved a performance of a truck containing ' two three quarter ton loads of backfill' being shovelled out of the truck in a circular pattern (85 metres across). Similar to Jackson Pollock. All these works were a blend of Minimalist + Abstract Expressionism but as a large scale.
• On Heizers 2nd trip, he took Walter De Maria who created work on an even larger scale. 'Two Paralell Lines' consisted of 2 lines, 3 inches thick, etched into the lake.
• Half a mile in length and was like a drawing.

'Two Parallel lines'
Walter De Maria

• Same year= Giuseppe Penone. Wound 3 trees together hoping they will grow close to each other. he experimented with leaving his mark upon nature and forcing it to change. 'Maritime Alps'. 'My height, the length of my arms,my breadth, in a brook' was an imprint of his body on a concrete block so that, when put into the stream, the water would run over his body. A symbolic merging of artist to the natural landscape.

'Maritime Alps'
Giuseppe Penone

• Then late 1968, Richard Long did his 10 Mile straight walk along Exmoor. Only the artist witnesses the artwork and the viewer can only see the proof on the map. A piece of Conceptual Art.

1968 was the date given to represent the start of Land Art, this was perhaps due to the events which occurred in this year :

• Long and De Maria held their first solo shows.
• Smithson held a show called 'Earthworks'
• 1968 witnessed the greatest annual number of American causalities- 14,589.
• Assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr + Robert Kennedy.
• Movies depicting societies in crisis 'Planet of the Apes'
• Worldwide discontent- 'Prague Springs' and widespread rioting.
• Threat of nuclear warfare. 
• Space Race. First images of the Earth seen from the moon.

Land art was a response to the conflict and a form of environmental consciousness + protest. Some Land Artists supported the environmental protest (Heizer) and some didn't see it as relevant (Richard Long).

• Land Art is seen to reflect our relationship with nature.
• Records the 'primary physical and non -representable' parts of the environment.
• Documentation is a key aspect. Is about the real world.
• Land Art is not a movement, it is also seen from 1968 onwards. Urges us to re-examine our relationship with the environment.

There is a great difference between American + European Land artists.