Environmental sculpture
Encyclopedia
The term environmental sculpture is variously defined. A development of the art of the 20th century, environmental
sculpture
usually creates or alters the environment for the viewer, as opposed to presenting itself figurally or monumentally before the viewer. A frequent trait of larger environmental sculptures is that one can actually enter or pass through the sculpture and be partially or completely surrounded by it. Also, in the same spirit, it may be designed to generate shadows or reflections, or to color the light in the surrounding area.
Julia M. Bush, writing in "A Decade of Sculpture: the New Media in the 1960s" (1974), emphasizes the nonfigurative aspect of such works: ""Environmental sculpture is never made to work at exactly human scale, but is sufficiently larger or smaller than scale to avoid confusion with the human image in the eyes of the viewer." (Busch, p. 27). Most sources, including author Laurie Wilson http://www.answers.com/topic/louise-berliawsky-nevelson cite Ukrainian-born American
sculptor Louise Nevelson as the pioneer of environmental sculpture in this sense. Busch (p. 27) also places the sculptures of Jane Frank
, as well as some works by Tony Smith
and David Smith
, in this category. Some environmental sculpture so encompasses the observer that it verges on architecture. For example, the Wikipedia article on Saunders Schultz refers to his "pioneering work in architectural/environmental sculpture."
Britannica names George Segal
, Duane Hanson
, Edward Kienholz
, Robert Smithson
, Christo, and Michael Heizer
as practitioners of the genre. The inclusion of Segal and Hanson clearly contradicts Busch's suggestion that environmental sculpture is never figural. Indeed, many figurative works of George Segal, for example, do qualify as environmental, in that - instead of being displayed on a pedestal as presentations to be gazed upon - they occupy and perturb the setting in which they are placed. A well known instance of this is the pair of Segal figures that sit on and stand next to one of the public benches in New York City
's Sheridan Square; anyone can sit right down amongst them and be included in their mysterious, silent encounter.
A less known but more appropriate example is Athena Tacha
's 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) park Connections in downtown Philadelphia (between 18th St. and 19th St. two blocks north of Vine St.), created as a landscape art environment after her winning a competition in 1980 (where Segal was actually one of the finalists). It was the first park designed entirely by an artist "sculpting the land" with planted terraces, rock clusters and paths (completed in 1992).
Nevertheless, even by Galston's definition, an environmental sculpture is not merely site-specific
. After all, one could argue that many a conventional, figurative, marble monument was created for a specific site. This does not make it "environmental sculpture". Galston stresses that environmental sculpture entails the idea that the piece also functions to alter or permeate the existing environment or even to create a new environment in which the viewer is invited to participate: "The finished sculpture and site become one integrated unit, working together to create a unified mood or atmosphere," she writes. Many of the large, site-specific
, minimalist sculptures of Richard Serra
also qualify as environmental sculpture, in both senses described here. Much of what is called "land art
" or "earth art" could also be termed environmental sculpture under this definition. Andrew Rogers
and Alan Sonfist
(which see) are among notable current practitioners of land art
.
Since 1983 German artist Eberhard Bosslet
makes interventions on ruins, so-called "Re/formations and side effects"; he refers to the conditions of industrial and residential buildings by white painted lines or black painted color fields.
" is sometimes used interchangeably with "environmental art
". The Wikipedia article on Louise Nevelson, for instance, calls her "the pioneer American environmental artist", without ever using the term "environmental sculpture". In contrast, Louise Nevelson's New York Times obituary begins: "Louise Nevelson, a pioneer creator of environmental sculpture ...." Yet the Britannica Online article on 'environmental sculpture' does not so much as mention Louise Nevelson. Clearly the terms "environment sculpture," "site-specific art," and "environmental art" have not yet completely stabilized in their meanings, and a degree of uncertainty must be accepted, at least for now.
The reason for this is that much of site-specific and environmental art was created from 1970 on for public spaces all over the United States, sponsored by federal(GSA and NEA) or state and city Percent for Art
competitions, and many of the artists were women trying to succeed outside the established art-gallery world. Younger art historians will have to sort out the development of this marginalized "movement" and the importance of artists such as Olga Kisseleva
, Patricia Johanson, Athena Tacha
, Mary Miss, Alice Adams
, Elyn Zimmerman and others who, from the early 1970s on, won and executed large outdoor public art commissions with new formal, kinesthetic and social underpinnings. Many of these artists were also ecologically conscious and created works that could offer a further definition of "environmental sculpture": art that is environmentally friendly and cares for the natural environment.
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
usually creates or alters the environment for the viewer, as opposed to presenting itself figurally or monumentally before the viewer. A frequent trait of larger environmental sculptures is that one can actually enter or pass through the sculpture and be partially or completely surrounded by it. Also, in the same spirit, it may be designed to generate shadows or reflections, or to color the light in the surrounding area.
Sculpture as environment
Britannica Online defines environmental sculpture in this vein:"20th-century art form intended to involve or encompass the spectators rather than merely to face them; the form developed as part of a larger artistic current that sought to break down the historical dichotomy between life and art."
Julia M. Bush, writing in "A Decade of Sculpture: the New Media in the 1960s" (1974), emphasizes the nonfigurative aspect of such works: ""Environmental sculpture is never made to work at exactly human scale, but is sufficiently larger or smaller than scale to avoid confusion with the human image in the eyes of the viewer." (Busch, p. 27). Most sources, including author Laurie Wilson http://www.answers.com/topic/louise-berliawsky-nevelson cite Ukrainian-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sculptor Louise Nevelson as the pioneer of environmental sculpture in this sense. Busch (p. 27) also places the sculptures of Jane Frank
Jane Frank
Jane Schenthal Frank was an American artist. She studied with Hans Hofmann and Norman Carlberg and is known as a painter, sculptor, mixed media artist, and textile artist...
, as well as some works by Tony Smith
Tony Smith (sculptor)
Tony Smith was an American sculptor, visual artist, architectural designer, and a noted theorist on art. He is often cited as a pioneering figure in American Minimalist sculpture.-Education:...
and David Smith
David Smith (sculptor)
David Roland Smith was an American Abstract Expressionist sculptor and painter, best known for creating large steel abstract geometric sculptures.-Biography:...
, in this category. Some environmental sculpture so encompasses the observer that it verges on architecture. For example, the Wikipedia article on Saunders Schultz refers to his "pioneering work in architectural/environmental sculpture."
Britannica names George Segal
George Segal (artist)
George Segal was an American painter and sculptor associated with the Pop Art movement. He was presented with a National Medal of Arts in 1999.-Works:...
, Duane Hanson
Duane Hanson
Duane Hanson was an American artist based in South Florida but born in Minnesota, a sculptor known for his lifecast realistic works of people, cast in various materials, including polyester resin, fibreglass, Bondo and bronze...
, Edward Kienholz
Edward Kienholz
Edward Kienholz was an American installation artist whose work was highly critical of aspects of modern life. From 1972 onwards, he assembled much of his artwork in close collaboration with his artistic partner and wife, Nancy Reddin Kienholz...
, Robert Smithson
Robert Smithson
Robert Smithson was an American artist famous for his land art.-Background and education:Smithson was born in Passaic, New Jersey and studied painting and drawing in New York City at the Art Students League of New York....
, Christo, and Michael Heizer
Michael Heizer
Michael Heizer is a contemporary artist specializing primarily in large-scale sculptures and earth art .Heizer was born in Berkeley, California in 1944; and he attended the San Francisco Art Institute. Traveling to New York City in 1966, he began his career producing more conventional, small-scale...
as practitioners of the genre. The inclusion of Segal and Hanson clearly contradicts Busch's suggestion that environmental sculpture is never figural. Indeed, many figurative works of George Segal, for example, do qualify as environmental, in that - instead of being displayed on a pedestal as presentations to be gazed upon - they occupy and perturb the setting in which they are placed. A well known instance of this is the pair of Segal figures that sit on and stand next to one of the public benches in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Sheridan Square; anyone can sit right down amongst them and be included in their mysterious, silent encounter.
A less known but more appropriate example is Athena Tacha
Athena Tacha
Athena Tacha , is best known in the fields of environmental public sculpture and conceptual art, but has also worked extensively in photography, film and artists’ books...
's 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) park Connections in downtown Philadelphia (between 18th St. and 19th St. two blocks north of Vine St.), created as a landscape art environment after her winning a competition in 1980 (where Segal was actually one of the finalists). It was the first park designed entirely by an artist "sculpting the land" with planted terraces, rock clusters and paths (completed in 1992).
Sculpture created for an environment
A second sense of the term "environmental sculpture", with a somewhat different emphasis, is sculpture created for a particular set of surroundings. Thus, contemporary sculptor Beth Galston writes: "An environmental sculptor plans a piece from the very beginning in relationship to its surroundings. The site is a catalyst, becoming part of the creative process." http://www.bethgalston.com/env_sculpt.html This is quite different from a Nevelson sculpture, which can usually be moved from place to place, like a conventional sculpture, without losing its meaning and effectiveness.Nevertheless, even by Galston's definition, an environmental sculpture is not merely site-specific
Site-specific
Site-specific is used in a range of contexts:In art Site-specific artIn molecular biology Site-specific recombination...
. After all, one could argue that many a conventional, figurative, marble monument was created for a specific site. This does not make it "environmental sculpture". Galston stresses that environmental sculpture entails the idea that the piece also functions to alter or permeate the existing environment or even to create a new environment in which the viewer is invited to participate: "The finished sculpture and site become one integrated unit, working together to create a unified mood or atmosphere," she writes. Many of the large, site-specific
Site-specific
Site-specific is used in a range of contexts:In art Site-specific artIn molecular biology Site-specific recombination...
, minimalist sculptures of Richard Serra
Richard Serra
Richard Serra is an American minimalist sculptor and video artist known for working with large-scale assemblies of sheet metal. Serra was involved in the Process Art Movement.-Early life and education:...
also qualify as environmental sculpture, in both senses described here. Much of what is called "land art
Land art
Land art, Earthworks , or Earth art is an art movement which emerged in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, in which landscape and the work of art are inextricably linked...
" or "earth art" could also be termed environmental sculpture under this definition. Andrew Rogers
Andrew Rogers (sculptor)
Andrew Rogers is a sculptor whose works may be found in many plazas and buildings around the world. He is a leading contemporary artist.Rogers is the creator of the world’s largest contemporary land art undertaking...
and Alan Sonfist
Alan Sonfist
Alan Sonfist is a New York City based American artist most often associated with the Land or Earth Art movement.He is best known for his "Time Landscape" found on the corner of West Houston Street and LaGuardia Place in New York City's Greenwich Village. Proposed in 1965, "Time Landscape" the...
(which see) are among notable current practitioners of land art
Land art
Land art, Earthworks , or Earth art is an art movement which emerged in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, in which landscape and the work of art are inextricably linked...
.
Since 1983 German artist Eberhard Bosslet
Eberhard Bosslet
Eberhard Bosslet is a German contemporary artist who has been producing site-specific art and architectural-related works, such as sculpture, installation and painting, both indoors and outdoors, since 1979...
makes interventions on ruins, so-called "Re/formations and side effects"; he refers to the conditions of industrial and residential buildings by white painted lines or black painted color fields.
Environment sculpture vis-à-vis site-specific art and environmental art
Further clouding the definitional waters, the term "site-specific artSite-specific art
Site-specific art is artwork created to exist in a certain place. Typically, the artist takes the location into account while planning and creating the artwork...
" is sometimes used interchangeably with "environmental art
Environmental art
The term environmental art is used in two different contexts: it can be used generally to refer to art dealing with ecological issues and/or the natural, such as the formal, the political, the historical, or the social context....
". The Wikipedia article on Louise Nevelson, for instance, calls her "the pioneer American environmental artist", without ever using the term "environmental sculpture". In contrast, Louise Nevelson's New York Times obituary begins: "Louise Nevelson, a pioneer creator of environmental sculpture ...." Yet the Britannica Online article on 'environmental sculpture' does not so much as mention Louise Nevelson. Clearly the terms "environment sculpture," "site-specific art," and "environmental art" have not yet completely stabilized in their meanings, and a degree of uncertainty must be accepted, at least for now.
The reason for this is that much of site-specific and environmental art was created from 1970 on for public spaces all over the United States, sponsored by federal(GSA and NEA) or state and city Percent for Art
Percent for Art
The term "percent for art" refers to a program, often a city ordinance, where a fee, usually some percentage of the project cost, is placed on large scale development projects in order to fund and install public art. The details of such programs vary from area-to-area...
competitions, and many of the artists were women trying to succeed outside the established art-gallery world. Younger art historians will have to sort out the development of this marginalized "movement" and the importance of artists such as Olga Kisseleva
Olga Kisseleva
Olga Kisseleva is a Russian artist. Olga Kisseleva works mainly in installation, science and media art. Her work employs various media, including video, immersive virtual reality, the Web, wireless technology, performance, large-scale art installations and interactive exhibitions.- Biography :As...
, Patricia Johanson, Athena Tacha
Athena Tacha
Athena Tacha , is best known in the fields of environmental public sculpture and conceptual art, but has also worked extensively in photography, film and artists’ books...
, Mary Miss, Alice Adams
Alice Adams (artist)
Alice Adams is an American artist known for her sculpture and site specific land art in the 1970s and since 1986 for her major public art projects in transit systems, airports, university campuses and other urban sites throughout the United States...
, Elyn Zimmerman and others who, from the early 1970s on, won and executed large outdoor public art commissions with new formal, kinesthetic and social underpinnings. Many of these artists were also ecologically conscious and created works that could offer a further definition of "environmental sculpture": art that is environmentally friendly and cares for the natural environment.
Topics
- Environmental artEnvironmental artThe term environmental art is used in two different contexts: it can be used generally to refer to art dealing with ecological issues and/or the natural, such as the formal, the political, the historical, or the social context....
- Site-specific artSite-specific artSite-specific art is artwork created to exist in a certain place. Typically, the artist takes the location into account while planning and creating the artwork...
- Land artLand artLand art, Earthworks , or Earth art is an art movement which emerged in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, in which landscape and the work of art are inextricably linked...
(Earth art) - Earthworks (art)
- Land Arts of the American WestLand Arts of the American WestLand Arts of the American West is a studio-based field program that seeks to construct an expanded definition of land art through direct experience connecting the full range of human interventions in the landscape—from pre-contact indigenous to contemporary practice...
- Sustainable artSustainable artThe expression sustainable art has been promoted recently as an art term that can be distinguished from environmental art that is in harmony with the key principles of sustainability, which include ecology, social justice, non-violence and grassroots democracy....
Artists
- Lucien den ArendLucien den ArendLucien Armand Marco den Arend is a geometric abstract sculptor. As is the case with concrete art, his work is not modeled after any existing object – his sculpture represents only itself. Most of his sculptures and Land art projects were made as public art.Den Arend was born in Dordrecht, The...
- Betty BeaumontBetty BeaumontArtist Betty Beaumont lives and works in New York City, New York. Beaumont is now a U. S. Citizen. She works in the field of environmental art, creating installations out of waste products.-Life and work:...
- Guillaume BijlGuillaume BijlGuillaume Bijl, born in Antwerp in 1946, is a Belgian installation artist.Bijl's first installation was a driving school, set in a gallery-space in Antwerp in 1979, accompanied by a manifesto calling for the abolition of art centres, and replacing them with 'socially useful institutions'...
- Chris Booth
- Eberhard BossletEberhard BossletEberhard Bosslet is a German contemporary artist who has been producing site-specific art and architectural-related works, such as sculpture, installation and painting, both indoors and outdoors, since 1979...
- Christo and Jeanne-ClaudeChristo and Jeanne-ClaudeChristo and Jeanne-Claude were a married couple who created environmental works of art...
- Jane FrankJane FrankJane Schenthal Frank was an American artist. She studied with Hans Hofmann and Norman Carlberg and is known as a painter, sculptor, mixed media artist, and textile artist...
- Andy GoldsworthyAndy GoldsworthyAndy Goldsworthy, OBE is a British sculptor, photographer and environmentalist producing site-specific sculpture and land art situated in natural and urban settings. He lives and works in Scotland.-Life and career:The son of F...
- Arne GrohArne GrohArne Groh is a German sculptor living in Kassel, Germany.* Founder of Interferencia* Galerie für Wärmeskulpturen und Heizobjekte-Exhibitions:* 1978 Galerie St...
- Michael HeizerMichael HeizerMichael Heizer is a contemporary artist specializing primarily in large-scale sculptures and earth art .Heizer was born in Berkeley, California in 1944; and he attended the San Francisco Art Institute. Traveling to New York City in 1966, he began his career producing more conventional, small-scale...
- Nancy HoltNancy HoltNancy Holt is an American artist famous for her public sculpture, installation art and land art. Throughout her career, Holt has also produced works in other mediums, including film, photography, and writing artist’s books.-Biography:...
- Robert JacobsenRobert JacobsenRobert Julius Tommy Jacobsen was a Danish sculptor and painter. The Danish Robert award was named after him.-Biography:...
- Olga KisselevaOlga KisselevaOlga Kisseleva is a Russian artist. Olga Kisseleva works mainly in installation, science and media art. Her work employs various media, including video, immersive virtual reality, the Web, wireless technology, performance, large-scale art installations and interactive exhibitions.- Biography :As...
- Jack LembeckJack LembeckJack Lembeck is an American painter and sculptor known for his Abstract Illusionism paintings and installation art....
- Richard Long (artist)Richard Long (artist)Richard Long is an English sculptor, photographer and painter, one of the best known British land artists. Long is the only artist to be shortlisted for the Turner Prize four times, and he is reputed to have refused the prize in 1984...
- Louise Nevelson
- Andrew RogersAndrew Rogers (sculptor)Andrew Rogers is a sculptor whose works may be found in many plazas and buildings around the world. He is a leading contemporary artist.Rogers is the creator of the world’s largest contemporary land art undertaking...
- George Segal (artist)George Segal (artist)George Segal was an American painter and sculptor associated with the Pop Art movement. He was presented with a National Medal of Arts in 1999.-Works:...
- Richard SerraRichard SerraRichard Serra is an American minimalist sculptor and video artist known for working with large-scale assemblies of sheet metal. Serra was involved in the Process Art Movement.-Early life and education:...
- David Smith (sculptor)David Smith (sculptor)David Roland Smith was an American Abstract Expressionist sculptor and painter, best known for creating large steel abstract geometric sculptures.-Biography:...
- Tony Smith (sculptor)Tony Smith (sculptor)Tony Smith was an American sculptor, visual artist, architectural designer, and a noted theorist on art. He is often cited as a pioneering figure in American Minimalist sculpture.-Education:...
- Alan SonfistAlan SonfistAlan Sonfist is a New York City based American artist most often associated with the Land or Earth Art movement.He is best known for his "Time Landscape" found on the corner of West Houston Street and LaGuardia Place in New York City's Greenwich Village. Proposed in 1965, "Time Landscape" the...
- Athena TachaAthena TachaAthena Tacha , is best known in the fields of environmental public sculpture and conceptual art, but has also worked extensively in photography, film and artists’ books...
- James TurrellJames TurrellJames Turrell is an American artist primarily concerned with light and space. Turrell was a MacArthur Fellow in 1984. He is represented by The Pace Gallery in New York...
- Wolf VostellWolf VostellWolf Vostell was a German painter, sculptor, noise music maker and Happening artist of the second half of the 20th century. Wolf Vostell is considered one of the pioneers of video art, environment-sculptures, Happenings and the Fluxus Movement...
External links
- Urban Art Projects
- Britannica online definition of environmental sculpture
- Answers.com pages on Louise Nevelson including short summary by Laurie Wilson
- Environmental sculpture as defined by working contemporary sculptor Beth Galston
- Environmental sculpture by the sculptor Lucien den Arend
- New York Times, Louise Nevelson obituary (1988) (calling her "a pioneer creator of environmental sculpture")
- Alan Sonfist Official Web Page
- Olga Kisseleva Official Web Page
- Australian town gateway sculpture - case study 1993 landmark environmental artwork by artist Fran Ferguson
- Andrew Rogers Website
- Jacek Tylicki Land & Environmental Art projects