“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.
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