Sunday, December 9, 2012

The "Earth Matters" Exhibition



"Environmental art" is a rather broad term that encompasses a variety of artistic expressions. The concept of environmental art emerged as a movement pioneered by a group of artists in the 1960, some of them featured in this exhibition.

This new approach to art first emerged in form of land-art or "site-specific" art which involves the sculpting of the landscape, sometimes on a monumental scale. The surface of the Earth becomes a three-dimensional canvas which the artist re-shapes and re-creates.

A different form of site-specific art is created by leaving the natural environment intact. Many environmental artists active in nature conservation work only with "indigenous" materials found on-site; the artwork is created as part of the natural environment which is left unharmed, expressing a desire for a closer and more harmonious relationship with what we call nature.

Yet another expression of environmental art is closely related to environmental activism and conservationism. Here, environmental art becomes "action art"; the objective is to bring attention to environmental or social causes, generate interest and awareness and to provoke public response.

The various concepts and aspects of this intriguing form of art are represented in this exhibition by a group of renowned artists who have worked and exhibited extensively in the field of environmental art. 


"Earth Matters" features the following artists:


Jackie Brookner
Agnes Denes
Andy Goldsworthy
Nancy Holt
Chris Jordan
Richard Long
Michael Heizer
Alan Sonfist
Jason deCaires Taylor

James Turrell

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