I took this photo in Croatia this past Summer, at Plitvice Lakes. I already knew by this Summer that I would be taking this course, so I took a number of photos bearing this in mind throughout my 3-month backpacking adventure through Europe. Plitvice Lakes is a place of life untamed. 16 bright blue--incredibly blue--lakes separate the landscape, one spilling into the other in a series of waterfalls. The waterfalls are shaped by travertine (moss, bacteria, and algae) formations, and the water is colored by a coctail of minerals from the ground. In the photo above, the fertility of the area is made visible by the way that growth bursts off of any surface it possibly can. To me, this is Earth Art. The question I am wondering, and maybe will answer throughout the course of this class, is at what point it becomes "art." Does it have to be noticed as such by someone? Or are formations of the Earth "art" even before they are seen?
I also think that Earth art can entail art that is formed by human hands through mediums made by the Earth. A few years ago, my mom gave me a DVD called "Rivers and Tides" by Andy Goldsworthy, and this illuminated this part of Eart Art for me. My roommate is a crafts major, and she uses a lot of organic materials in her work. I haven't decided if this would be considered Earth Art. Though she has used mediums of the Earth, I feel that they may need to be used in their natural settings to be considered as such. I will explore this through the course.
(Susan Pollard, Richmond VA, Fall 2007)
I took this photo in Croatia this past Summer, at Plitvice Lakes. I already knew by this Summer that I would be taking this course, so I took a number of photos bearing this in mind throughout my 3-month backpacking adventure through Europe. Plitvice Lakes is a place of life untamed. 16 bright blue--incredibly blue--lakes separate the landscape, one spilling into the other in a series of waterfalls. The waterfalls are shaped by travertine (moss, bacteria, and algae) formations, and the water is colored by a coctail of minerals from the ground. In the photo above, the fertility of the area is made visible by the way that growth bursts off of any surface it possibly can. To me, this is Earth Art. The question I am wondering, and maybe will answer throughout the course of this class, is at what point it becomes "art." Does it have to be noticed as such by someone? Or are formations of the Earth "art" even before they are seen?
I also think that Earth art can entail art that is formed by human hands through mediums made by the Earth. A few years ago, my mom gave me a DVD called "Rivers and Tides" by Andy Goldsworthy, and this illuminated this part of Eart Art for me. My roommate is a crafts major, and she uses a lot of organic materials in her work. I haven't decided if this would be considered Earth Art. Though she has used mediums of the Earth, I feel that they may need to be used in their natural settings to be considered as such. I will explore this through the course.
(Susan Pollard, Richmond VA, Fall 2007)
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