Land Art

I recently stumbled upon the website of a land artist JimDenevan http://www.jimdenevan.com/news.htm and I was astounded by the scale and ambition this artist has. Not only is the scale of his work enormous and hugely ambitious but it's also perfectly executed. Who could imag

ine a piece of art 9 miles wide and visible on google maps. This man is creating beautiful patterns in nature but then utilising modern technology to document it. eventually the work is taken away by nature too and so Jim is using the technology of his time to create something that will only truly exist in his time - it's all temporary.

This reminded me of another artist that I found inspirational when I was younger - Andy Goldsworthy. http://www.rwc.uc.edu/artcomm/web/w2005_2006/maria_Goldsworthy/biography.html

Andy is a British land artist and sculptor. He is known for going for walks in nature and creating temporary pieces of art that over time would become a part of nature again too. From wrapping stones in rivers with leaves to sculpting ice and snow and building stone arches he makes the sculpture and photographs it before it disappears again. The end result is then not something that can be kept and owned and so the art is transient: it changes along with nature, it is a part of nature and it doesn't interfere with nature - it's harmonious.

Part of the idea behind Andy's art is the process of making it. I too am interested in the process of making my paintings. The end result is a product of the interaction the artist has with their materials and the manipulation that the artist gives to them in order to get to the end result. Whatever the materials they will perform as much as the artist wants them to but eventually whether the materials are man made or natural, they will still behave in a certain way. Andy has no control over the natural cycle - decomposition, rivers washing leaves away, sun melting ice and I like to play with the limits to which I control the materials that I use. Part of my enjoyment in it is to let the paint do unexpected things, I can control it to a degree but the paint for me is the main feature of the painting and so I like to let it wrap around the canvas in layers skins and textures of paint.

So please have a look at these two artists, I love nature and art and the two together I think are awe inspiring.