Land Art: Influence and Evolution in the 1970s

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During the 1970s, artist began creating what is known today as “Land Art.” This style of art literally uses nature and various processes to convey a greater meaning. To this day, there are many artists creating Land Art. Three artists that have heavily influenced Land Art are, Robert Smithson, Maya Lin, and Andy Goldsworthy. Robert Smithson is an American artist from New Jersey that incorporated photography in various pieces of land art. He is most known for his land art titled, “Spiral Jetty.” Spiral Jetty is a huge piece of land art located at Razol Point in Great Salt Lake Utah. Smithson used a combination of mud, salt crystals, and rocks water coil to create this piece. A main element which makes Spiral Jetty so important and interesting is that the entire piece of art can submerge and resubmerged. In addition, Spiral Jetty allows the person viewing it to walk out on the lake. By walking out onto Spiral Jetty, the person gains a beautiful view from the lake's level. I chose to look at Smithson’s Spiral Jetty because I am truly fascinated by it. I am intrigued by the concept that this piece of land art can be submerged entirely and …show more content…

Land art combines artistic vision with nature together to create a piece of art with a greater meaning. One artist I chose to discuss land art is Robert Smithson who is known for creating “Spiral Jetty.” This piece of land art is important as it has the ability to submerge itself with the surrounding water and re emerge unharmed. Another land artist is Maya Lin who created “The Wave Field.” This wave field which is located in Michigan, is essential to land art since the waves were created to scale to give the person walking through the field the feeling of flowing with the waves. Lastly, I chose Andy Goldsworthy as his work is beautiful and ephemeral. In conclusion, three artists that have left a lasting impact in land art are, Robert Smithson, Maya Lin and Andy

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