Bibliography

Aly, N. (2011, December 22). Cancun Underwater Museum The Silent Evolution. Retrieved March 2, 2013, from Scuba Diver Life: http://scubadiverlife.com/2010/12/22/cancun-underwater-museum-the-silent-evolution/

Burgess, K. (2010, November 2). Artist completes artificial reef, 'The Silent Evolution,' installing 400 sculptures underwater. Retrieved March 4, 2013, from Las Angeles Times: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2010/11/jason-decaires-taylor-artificial-reef-silent-evolution-underwater-sculptures.html

Environmental Graffiti. (2010). An Interview with Underwater Sculptor Jason DeCaires Taylor. Retrieved March 2, 2013, from Environmental Graffiti: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/art/news-interview-jason-decaires-taylor-underwater-artist

Jason deCaires Taylor. (n.d.). Jason deCaires Taylor Biography. Retrieved March 2, 2013, from Underwater Sculpture: http://www.underwatersculpture.com/pages/artist/bio.htm

John Dahlesn.com. (n.d.). Interviews, artist statements and video: John Dahlsen Australian Environmental Artist and Contemporary Painter. Retrieved March 12, 2013, from John Dahlsen: http://www.johndahlsen.com/interview.html

John Dahlsen.com. (2012). John Dahlsen: Contemporary Australian Environmental Artist, Biography. Retrieved March 12, 2013, from John Dahlsen: http://www.johndahlsen.com/john_dahlsen.html

Swell Sculpture. (n.d.). Home Page. Retrieved March 12, 2013, from Swell Sculpture Festival: http://www.swellsculpture.com.au/index.php

Tarasen, N. (n.d.). Biography. Retrieved March 22, 2013, from Double Negative: A Website About Michael Heizer: http://doublenegative.tarasen.net/heizer.html

Tarasen, N. (n.d.). Double Negative. Retrieved March 23, 2013, from Double Negative: A Website About Michael Heizer: http://doublenegative.tarasen.net/double_negative.html

Unknown. (n.d.). John Dahlsen: The Future We Want. Retrieved March 12, 2013, from United Nations: http://www.un.org/en/sustainablefuture/dahlsen.shtml

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Wikipedia. (2013, April 10). Michael Heizer. Retrieved March 16, 2013, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Heizer

Wikipedia. (2013, April 12). Romanticism. Retrieved March 4, 2013, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticism

Michael Heizer: Negative Impact On The Environment

Double Negative, Michael Heizer, Mormon Mesa (Land art), 1970, http://www.esperdy.net/?p=317

Double Negative, Michael Heizer, Mormon Mesa (Land art), 1970, http://www.outikotala.net/?p=17

“Earth Art” or “Land Art” is defined by the Columbia Encyclopaedia as being “the artist employ[ing] the elements of nature in situ or rearranges the landscape with earthmoving equipment. The resulting work, often vast in scale, is subject to all natural changes, such as temperature variations, light and darkness, wind, and erosion.” (Columbia Encyclopaedia.com). The particular thing about this landscape manipulation is that there is a fine line between the accentuation of the positives that are already present in the natural environment and the ruining of a pristine state of creation. Michael Heizer was a pioneer of the Land Art genre and this may have come from the exposure to field work done by his prominent anthropologist father. He was able to experience many parts of North America, as well as Peru and Bolivia. His inspiration may have also come from the work of his grandfather, a geologist.

Heizer spent a year of his high school life studying in France, and then went on to attend the San Francisco Art Institute. After finishing his degree he moved to New York, where he found that he felt too constrained by the city, both physically and mentally, which impacted negatively on his well-being. Due to this sense of limitation, Heizer moved into Central America, to create a new genre of Land Art, using the earth as his medium.  This was an extremely gutsy thing for a person to do, to move away from a place with opportunities to chase a dream of a new art genre in the desert of the USA, but It was here that he created artworks that did not need to fit inside a walled museum. And so Double Negative was created.

Double negative is two trenches cut into the ground across from each other on the edge of a Mesa (table lands with steep, sloping sides). The trenches measure 470 metres together. They are 15.2 m deep and 9.1 m wide. In the process of blowing the land from the ground, 218, 000 tonnes of rock was displaced.

The two trenches form lines of radiation, pointing toward the focal point of the edge of the mesa. As shown in the photo below, shadows cast by the trenches create contrast from the surrounding, flat land. The line of the troughs is very sharp, straight and geometric, which also contrasts from the naturally formed, rough landscape surrounding it.

Double Negative from above, Michael Heizer,  http://www.koofers.com/flashcards/arth-final-exam-images/review

To take an uninterrupted piece of land that has been not changed unnaturally in any way for possibly millennia must take a lot of audacity. I cannot deny that Heizer must have amazing skill and perseverance. The title ‘Double Negative’ demonstrates that the idea for the artwork was to take something away from the land, creating negative space. So it is more about what is not there than what is, hence the name Double Negative. Heizer is quoted as saying "There is nothing there, yet it is still a sculpture." (Heizer, Double Negative, Doublenegative.tarasen.net). Well why I reluctantly agree, Mr Heizer, I do not approve of the “sculpture” all the same.

The fact that the creative act is the removal of nature is something that I struggle to see as positive. The trenches that removed rock and sand were most likely the home of creatures that were destroyed when the dynamite exploded the mesa. The image that come to mind when thinking of the way that this artwork was constructed is one of construction workers, machinery, explosives, and with that, worst of all a lack of respect for the land. It feels to me as if Heizer saw the place as imperfect, and thought that it should not be ruined, so then he would cut deep trenches into it, not seeing that beauty that was there to being with.

‘Double Negative’ has a feeling of Humanocentricism, and it goes against the values of many religious beliefs about caring for the environment. This caretaker view also juxtaposes the pagan and Buddhist view of man being part of the earth, equal to each living thing. This relationship between man and earth view that many people have will cause friction between the land art genres which is something that the artist must be prepared for.

It could be said that this artwork is a manifestation of human hubris, the audacity that Heizer had to think that he had some right to do this to the land. While it is an impressive creation, I am not impressed by the lack of environmental respect it seems to have. The fact that it will probably encourage the erosion of that part of the Mesa’s walls, coupled with the number of animals that would have died or lost their homes in vain for the desires of a man, creates the main negative for the creation of this artwork.

John Dahlsen: Highlighting Environmental Issues

Plastic Bag Abstraction Triptych, John Dahlsen, plastic bags, http://www.johndahlsen.com/detail_plastic_bags/Plastic_Bag_Abstraction.html

John Dahlsen is one of the most renowned Australian artists for highlighting environmental issues and using rubbish collected from the beach to create his works. Dahlsen grew up with no father, as his committed suicide three weeks before Dahlsen was born. This was an issue that Dahlsen found he was able to begin resolving after his studio was ruined by a fire in 1983. This fire destroyed seven years’ worth of artworks. Not only were material possession wrecked, but the fire had a large influence on the foundations of his life, as he was faced with mortality. From this his creative style changed, as he became “less rigid as a person” (John Dahlsen, New York Magazine- Art Calendar) .

Dahlsen has had a huge public effect on environmental issues, touring the world presenting lectures as both an artist and an activist about litter’s effect on the world, specifically the ocean. He was awarded the Swell Sculpture Exhibition “Environmental Award” (an exhibition held to celebrate environmental art in Australia) in 2009 and 2012. His permanent exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum Sydney, entitled “Ecologic”, encourages people to create a sustainable future for the planet.

Dahlsen lives at Byron Bay, which he describes as being perfect. When a person lives near to the ocean or in a place that is seen as being perfect, the resident will have a relationship to nature to some extent. Dahlsen realised this as he became passionately invested in collecting plastic objects he found along the beach until he had accumulated 80 large bags in his studio. This was to become his new medium. Dahlsen is acutely aware of the impact that plastic has on the environment, poisoning the ocean and killing animals. One of the most shocking realities about pollution in the ocean is that the fish that ingest the rubbish then have the chemicals spread throughout their body, and when human eat the fish they then are consuming their own idle waste.

John Dahlsen and found plastic objects in his studio.

http://www.brits-art.com/australian%20art/John%20Dahlsen/John%20Dahlsen.html

Dahlsen’s artworks made of plastic bags are a grim, yet beautiful reminder of the part that each human has to play in the health of the planet. The 44 cm by 165 cm Plastic Bag Abstraction Triptych was created by Dahlsen in 2003 using plastic bags found strewn across his environment. The thing I love about the work is that it does not try to make you feel at fault and pressure you into improving your pollution, but persuades you gently. The soft colours of purple, green, grey and blues are relaxing, and make you want to pick up any rubbish you see. It is quite interesting that Dahlsen has created such an aesthetically pleasing piece to highlight pollution, instead of an ugly, intrusive piece which offends you and puts you off ever seeing rubbish again! I am impressed with the poise in which he has created this piece, giving it a positive, yet restrained feeling.

The rhythmic positioning of the coloured plastic creates the illusions of waves softly flowing over the piece; this may be intentional and may reflect the ocean that Dahlsen is surrounded by.

The focal point of this artwork is the stripes of blue and green plastic, which contrast against the clear and grey bags surrounding them. The eye is then directed down the work by the frames to the purple and brown patches, which have less of an immediate impact on the viewer but add to the overall piece. The way that the artwork is viewed, can be paralleled to how the viewer will react to it, to see the value in the throw- away objects as they are set like jewels among less attractive versions.

Dahlsen also comments on this is his description of the works; “This is my way of making a difference, and at the same time I’m sharing a positive message about beauty that can be gained from the aesthetic of appreciating art, as well as giving examples of how we can recycle and reuse in creative ways.”(John Dahlsen, New York Magazine- Art Calendar). He describes the creation of his artworks as “alchemical”, taking a man-made object that has served its purpose then been disposed of without regard, and the final alchemy being the way that the view interprets the work and applies a message to their own life.

This selectivity of the hues of the plastic bags creates something that is distant from the way that the ugly material would normally be viewed. This changes the perspective of the way that humans view objects as being at their disposal, to be cast away as soon as their purpose has been fulfilled. The plastic bags become something with potential and art viewed then as art objects.

‘Plastic Bag Abstraction Triptych’ is a beautiful work which highlights the important environmental issues that society must face, while also appealing to people’s aesthetics. John Dahlsen should be commended on his recycled master piece that continues to help improve the way that the public views litter.

Jason deCaires Taylor: Positive Impact on Environment

The man (left) that the sculpture is based on (right), the coral growing over the sculpture (right).   Silent Evolution (MUSA Collection, Cancun/IslaMujeres, Mexico), Jason deCaires Taylor, cement sculpture, http://www.underwatersculpture.com/pages/gallery/evolucion-silenciosa.html

Jason deCaires Taylor grew up in Europe and Asia and the coral reefs off Malaysia were his playground. It is no wonder therefore that he has created such an amazing display underneath the water. After this cultured start to life, he was educated in Kent, England and went on to graduate from the London Institute of Arts in 1998 with BA (Honours) in Sculpture and became a professional diving instructor and underwater naturalist.

Taylor was influenced by the works of Christo, Richard Long and Claes Oldenburg early in his career. These artists all created works which have an emphasis on the close connection of an object and its environment. Taylor once stated “I am interested in public art and how objects change in response to their environment” (Greaves-Gabbadon, Sarah, “Underwater Sculpures in Grenada”, “Caribbean Travel + Life”, November 2007). This belief has manifested in his works, most of which involve human figures in the ocean.

The underwater exhibition “Silent Evolution” was opened on the 26^th of November 2010, and is the fourth and final instalment in his submerged museum, consisting of over 400 concrete statues.  In the creation of this artwork, 120 tons of cement, sand and gravel were used, along with 120 hours of underwater work.

Taylor placed cement sculptures, which are attached to a cement base to reduce damage from waves, into the ocean (his two main exhibition sites are at Cancun, Mexico and Granada, West Indies), at around 5 to 8 metre’s depth. They were left until organisms formed upon them naturally. Coral spores attached themselves to the human forms and small crustaceans built their homes in their bespoke holes. As time progressed, fish swam through the sculptures, which provide food for them, and a place to lay their eggs onto their cement surfaces. By this time, the works have become corner-stones in the ecosystem.

Taylor can be compared to the Romanticism movement, as both share a distaste for the scientific rationalisation of nature. Taylor ressurtects the Romantic Movement’s idea that humans are just another organism living on the earth while highlighting the ephemerality of the human race.

A fish depositing eggs onto the work Dream Collector, Jason deCaires Taylorhttp://www.underwatersculpture.com/pages/gallery/coleccionista.html

Taylor’s sculptures are positioned in areas of the ocean where the sea bed is too soft to support any coral or plant life. The surfaces that Taylor creates are ideal for coral reefs, and organisms soon beginning to grow there. This radical project was supported by Mexico’s Nautical Association and the Ministry of Environment because it provided the perfect opportunity to divert the 750, 000 tourists who visit the Cancun Marine Park, without losing the $36 million the travellers bring.

Taylor was extremely moved by the statistic that 80% of coral reefs will be permanently lost by the year 2050 and other shocking predictions of the future of the oceans. His response to this was to make forms that had no impact on the ocean and existed in harmony with the earth. The cement he used had to be very specific, and of the right pH level to sustain coral throughout the seasons.

 As for the shape of his forms, Taylor explains that “I have chosen to focus on human forms for many reasons, firstly the shape of an object is rapidly changed underwater and if you begin with an abstract form it generally becomes completely unrecognizable very quickly.” (deCaires Taylor,2010, Environmental Graffitti.com)  he goes on to elaborate “Also, I am trying to portray how human intervention or interaction with nature can be positive and sustainable, an icon of how we can live in a symbiotic relationship with nature” (deCaires Taylor, 2010, Environmental Graffitti.com). 

This really is an inspiring way to understand nature and the differences between the way that humans are treating it and should be treating it. The underlying message of the necessity for care for creation in the artwork is subtle. The positioning of the sculptures in water not only relays a message, it also enables a whole new avenue of interaction between viewer and environment.

The view when swimming amongst the artwork, Silent Evolution (MUSA Collection, Cancun/IslaMujeres, Mexico), Jason deCaires Taylor, cement sculpture, http://www.underwatersculpture.com/pages/gallery/evolucion-silenciosa.html

Underwater, the crowd of statues looks very silent and calm, as all of the people have their eyes closed, arms clasped and none are interacting with another, creating a somewhat disconnected appearance. The way that all of these people are standing, shrouded in their own lives, lends to a sense of unity amongst them. Each individual statue seems to have their own pain, from a pregnant woman clutching at her belly, to a child looking cold and lost; they are all part of a huge artwork in the middle of an abyss. As if it is all of these people against the rest of the world.

 

An aerial view of Silent Evolution (MUSA Collection, Cancun/IslaMujeres, Mexico), Jason deCaires Taylor, cement sculpture, http://www.underwatersculpture.com/pages/gallery/evolucion-silenciosa.html

This appearance of unity is strengthened viewed from above. The whole artwork looks almost completely unrecognisable from this aerial view, Taylor has positioned the statues and the plinths they are on to form two curves. These curves look similar to two hands reaching for the other, and so the negative space in between the two ‘hands’ becomes a focal point, as if there is some longing for the two to touch, although they never will.  ‘Silent Evolution’ contrasts from the clear blue of the water, into a dark shadow, and the curves create rhythm, so the viewer’s eye moves from one side of the form to the other, and then back to the beginning.

The only way to fully appreciate this work is to view it underwater, forcing the audience to be immersed in the ocean and to bring the problems facing the reefs to the audience’s attention, providing an educational aspect to the complex installation.

When viewing objects underwater, they can appear up to 25% larger than usual and light moves in different ways underwater, depending on the angle that it is viewed at. Colours can be distorted into a kaleidoscope, making each viewing experience unique to the individual beholding it

‘Silent Evolution’ is an incredible series of artworks, and I am remarkably impressed by Taylor’s concept. The works are beautiful without the underlying message, but when one adds the environment that the work is exhibited in, another level is added again. Couple this with the role it plays for the ocean, creating a place for life to form where it would have otherwise not, the artwork becomes truly impressive.

Another dimension is added to the already multifaceted artwork by the amount of awareness of conservation of the oceans that is created by the people who view the works. I believe that Jason deCaires Taylor is an astounding artist who should be commended for the wonderful work that he has done for the oceans.

The Holy Man, Jason deCaires Taylor, cement sculpture, http://www.underwatersculpture.com/pages/gallery/latest-works.html