Land and Environmental Art

Thetraditionallandscapegenrewasradicallytransformedinthe1960swhenmanyartistsstoppedmerelyrepresentingthelandandmadetheirmarkdirectlyintheenvironment.Drawnbyvast,uncultivatedspacesofdesertandmountainaswellasbypost-industrialwastelands,artistssuchasMichaelHeizer,NancyHoltandRobertSmithsonmovedearthtocreatecolossalprimalsymbols.Otherspunctuatedthehorizonwithman-madesignposts,suchasChristo'sRunningFenceandWalterdeMaria'sTheLightningField.ForRichardLong,journeysbecameworksofartwhileDennisOppenheimimmersedhisentirebodyinthecontoursoftheland.InthisbroadsurveyofLandArt,BrianWallisdiscussesthekeyartists,worksandissuesthatdefineLandArthistorically,aswellasitslaterramifications.Thisbookfullydocumentsthe1960sLandArtmovementandsurveysexamplesofEnvironmentalArttothepresentday.Earthworks,environments,performancesandactionsbyartistsrangingfromAnaMendietainthe1970sand80stoPeterFendinthe1990sareillustratedwithbreathtakingphotographs,sketchesandprojectnotes.