The Ethics of Earth Art

243 Pages·2010·27.275 MB·English

by  Amanda Boetzkes

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The Ethics of Earth Art
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AMANDA BOETZKES
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Copyright 2010 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290
Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520
http://www.upress.umn.edu
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Boetzkes, Amanda.
The ethics of earth art / Amanda Boetzkes.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8166-6588-4 (hc : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8166-6589-1 (pb : alk. paper)
1. Earthworks (Art)—Moral and ethical aspects.
2. Art and morals. I. Title.
N6494.E27B65 2010
709.04'076—dc22
2010027202
The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer.
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents
List of Illustrations vi
Acknowledgmeinx ts
Introduction: At the Limit of Form 1
1 Contemporary Art and the Nature of Site 25
2 Spiral Jetty: Allegory and the Recovery of the Elemental 65
3 Ecotechnology and the Receptive Surface 101
4 The Body as Limit 145
Conclusion: Facing the Earth Ethically 181
No2t0 1es
In2d1 3ex
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Illustrations
Figure 1 Mark Dion, Neukom Vivarium, 2007 | xii
Figure 2 David Nash, Black Dome, 1986 | 6
Figure 3 Richard Serra, Tilted Arc, 1980 | 7
Figure 4 Richard Long, A Line and Tracks in Bolivia, 1981 | 19
Figure 5 Richard Serra, Shift, 1970 | 29
Figure 6 Betty Beaumont, Ocean Landmark (surrogate), 1978–80 | 32
Figure 7 Betty Beaumont, Ocean Landmark (detail), 1978–80 | 33
Figure 8 Aviva Rahmani, Ghost Nets, 1991–2001 | 35
Figure 9 Joseph Beuys, Coyote, I Like America and America Likes Me, 1974 | 37
Figure 10 Joseph Beuys, 7,000 Eichen (7,000 Oaks) ,1982– (ongoing) | 38
Figure 11 Basia Irland, A Gathering of Waters: Rio Grande, Source to Sea,
1995–2000 | 40
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Figure 12 Basia Irland, A Gathering of Waters: Rio Grande, Source to Sea,
1995–2000 | 41
Figure 13 Rebecca Belmore, Ayumee-aawach Oomama-Mowan, 1991 | 43
Figure 14 Hans Haacke, Condensation Box, 1965 | 45
Figure 15 Andy Goldsworthy, “Black Stone, Dumfriesshire,” 1994–95 | 47
Figure 16 Andy Goldsworthy, “A Stone . . . ” (detail), 1993 | 47
Figure 17 Dennis Oppenheim, Wound, 1954–70 | 49
Figure 18 Dennis Oppenheim, Reading Position for Second Degree Burn, 1970 | 51
Figure 19 Ana Mendieta, Untitled, circa 1980–84 | 52
Figure 20 Ana Mendieta, Untitled (Silueta Series, Iowa), 1977 | 53
Figure 21 Hamish Fulton, Winter Solstice Full Moon . . . , 1991 | 59
Figure 22 Hamish Fulton, A 21 Day Coast to Coast Walking Journey
on Roads and Paths . . . , 1998 | 60
Figure 23 Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty, 1970 | 64
Figure 24 Robert Smithson, A Nonsite, Franklin, New Jersey, 1968 | 70
Figure 25 Robert Smithson, Fifth Mirror Displacement, 1969 | 73
Figure 26 Robert Smithson, Eight-Part Piece (Cayuga Salt Mine Project), 1969 | 75
Figure 27 Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty, film stills, 1970 | 86
Figure 28 Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty, film still, 1970 | 87
Figure 29 James Turrell, The Celestial Vault in Kijkduin, 1996 | 112
Figure 30 James Turrell, The Celestial Vault in Kijkduin, central stone slab, 1996 | 113
Figure 31 Chris Drury, Shelter for the Forest Deer, 1987 | 125
Figure 32 Chris Drury, Wave Chamber, 1996 | 127
Figure 33 Chris Drury, Star Chamber, diagram, 2006 | 128
Figure 34 Chris Drury, Star Chamber, interior, 2006 | 129
Figure 35 Olafur Eliasson, The mediated motion, 2001 | 132
Figure 36 Olafur Eliasson, The mediated motion, 2001 | 133
Figure 37 Olafur Eliasson, The mediated motion, 2001 | 134
Figure 38 Olafur Eliasson, Beauty, 1993 | 137
Figure 39 Olafur Eliasson, Your spiral view, 2002 | 141
Figure 40 Ana Mendieta, Untitled (Silueta Series, Iowa), 1977 | 153
Figure 41 Ana Mendieta, Untitled (Silueta Series, Oaxaca, Mexico), 1976 | 155
vii
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Figure 42 Ana Mendieta, Untitled (Silueta Series, Oaxaca, Mexico), 1976 | 157
Figure 43 Ana Mendieta, Incantation a Olokun-Yemayá, 1977 | 162
Figure 44 Susan Derges, River Taw (Birch), 12 January 1998, 1998 | 164
Figure 45 Susan Derges, River Taw (Crab Apple), 13 May 1998, 1998 | 165
Figure 46 Susan Derges, River Taw (Hazel), 16 June 1998, 1998 | 165
Figure 47 Jackie Brookner, Prima Lingua, 1996–present | 170
Figure 48 Jackie Brookner, Prima Lingua, shown in 2001 | 171
Figure 49 Jackie Brookner, Prima Lingua (detail), shown in 1996 | 173
Figure 50 Jackie Brookner, The Gift of Water, 2001 | 174
Figure 51 Jackie Brookner, The Gift of Water, 2001 | 175
Figure 52 Ichi Ikeda, Water Mirror, 1988 | 183
Figure 53 Ichi Ikeda, Big Hands Conference, 2000 | 186
Figure 54 Ichi Ikeda, Big Hands Conference (detail), 2000 | 187
Figure 55 Ichi Ikeda, Future Compass, 2004 | 188
Figure 56 Ichi Ikeda, Kawaguchi Water Factory, 2005 | 189
Figure 57 Ichi Ikeda, Kaseda Water Market, 1998 | 190
Figure 58 Ichi Ikeda, Kaseda Water Market (detail), 1998 | 191
Figure 59 Basia Irland, River Books, 1989 | 194
Figure 60 Basia Irland, Ice Book, 2007 | 195
Figure 61 Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison, Greenhouse Britain,
2008 | 197
Figure 62 Helen Mayer Harrison, Newton Harrison, and APG, Greenhouse
Britain, Eco Tower, 2008 | 198
Figure 63 Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison, Greenhouse Britain,
drawing of Eco Tower, 2008 | 199
Illustrations
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Acknowledgments
This book is dedicated to Aron Vinegar, with heartfelt thanks. I am grateful for your in-
sights, and for our many spirited conversations, which have enriched these pages. Special
thanks go to Christine Ross, for her perceptive recommendations and advice. You have
inspired me more than words can say. I am indebted to those individuals who provided
me with invaluable feedback at different stages of this project: Jennifer Roberts, Erika
Suderberg, David Woods, Dana Arnold, Jackie Brookner, Alex Potts, Johanne Sloan,
Bronwen Wilson, Angela Vanhaelen, Hajime Nakatani, Andrew Shelton, Vibha Arora,
Alexandra Ganser, and Alex Boutros.
Many thanks to my editor, Richard Morrison, for his advice and vision for this book,
and to Adam Brunner, for taking the time to respond to all my questions over the course
of the book’s production. Kathy Delfosse, thank you for your sharp eye in editing the
manuscript. Thanks also to Kristina Kachele for her beautiful work on the cover design.
I am grateful to the artists, curators, gallery directors, and assistants who kindly helped
ix
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