Art made from nature is just as diverse as the rest of the art world; it can be a simple visual pleasure or a complex political statement; it can inhabit a tiny space or an enormous expanse. We see nature art manifesting in the form of sculpture, installation, collage, graffiti, architecture, and more. The only commonality that links every work of “eco-art” is the medium: materials sourced directly from the Earth.
Nature as Source
Environmental Artists source materials directly from the earth to create their works. The very elements that compose our natural surroundings are the foundation of environmental art; leaves, flowers, branches, seeds, bark, pigment, minerals, stones, boulders, sand, dirt, moss, water, ice, wind and even sunlight, become the paint, charcoal, glue, and canvas. In the same way a painter is intimately connected with the temperament of his paint and behavior of his brushes, environmental artists must cultivate a sensibility to the inherent qualities of the elements. Moreover, this sensibility must examine the constant flux in relationships between elements and the context in which they exist. Seasonal, daily, and even hourly variations in temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speed, precipitation, and more can greatly affect the behavior and quality of a given element. Bavarian artist Nils-Udo has an acute understanding of the phenology of European wilderness. “He knows what fruits and vines and flowers are likely to be available in their seasons, what woody growth will enjoy the flexibility of youth, and what grasses, roots and vines will help him bind and reorganize Nature” (www.morning-earth.org).
British artist Andy Goldsworthy is renowned for his keen mindfulness of the natural materials that both compose and physically shape his work. His media often include brightly colored leaves, mud, pinecones, snow, icicles, and thorns. “I want an intimate physical involvement with the earth. I must touch. I take nothing out with me in the way of tools, glue or rope, preferring to explore the natural bonds and tensions that exist within the earth. The season and weather conditions determine to a large extent what I make. I enjoy relying on the seasons to provide new materials” (www.goldsworthy.cc.gla.ac.uk)
Nature as Place
In the creation of environmental art, location is arguably the most significant element to an piece. The location is not simply the context in which an installation is placed; rather, it provides the materials for manipulation, prescribes conditions for the life of a work, and is ultimately the implicit identity of the work. In this way, the “landscape and the work of art are inextricably linked. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_art). Consequently, many environmental artists seek to create in areas of abundant wilderness, far removed from society and man-made settings. This is evident in the works of Nils-Udo, Slyvain Meyer, most famously, Andy Goldsworthy, who states, “A rock is not independent of its surroundings. The way it sits tells how it came to be there. The energy and space around a rock are as important as the energy and space within. The weather – rain, sun, snow, hail, mist, calm – is that external space made visible. When I touch a rock, I am touching and working the space around it. In an effort to understand why that rock is there and where it is going, I do not take it away from the area in which I found it” ( www.goldsworthy.cc.gla.ac.uk).
Conversely, Robert Smithson, an American land artist, claims, “the best sites for ‘earth art’ are sites that have been disrupted by industry, reckless urbanization, or nature’s own devastation” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smithson). His interest in the notion of deformity heavily influences his installations. His most famous work, Spiral Jetty, was constructed in 1970 on the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake near Rozel Point in Utah. The sculpture is built of mud, salt crystals, basalt rocks, and water. The 1500 foot long sculpture coils and juts counterclockwise from the shore. Sometimes visible, and at other times submerged, this installation greatly depends on fluctuating environment in which it rests. Smithson chose this site for two main reasons: the blood-red hue for the water, a result of the bacteria and algae that thrive in the lake’s extremely salty makeup of that section of the Great Salt Lake; and the stark “anti-pastoral beauty and industrial remnants” from an old pier and oil rigs. While Smithson employed rocks and boulders directly from the surrounding landscape, he utilized dump trucks to move the heavy material into position.
Nature is Transient
“Observe always that everything is the result of a change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms and to make new ones like them.”—Meditations. iv. 36. – Marcus Aurelius
Given the organic nature of source materials, art made from nature is often ephemeral. Much like Tibetan sand mandalas that are swept away minutes or hours after painstaking completion, works of art made from nature are subject to decay, fade, or wash away. The transience of these pieces reminds us that life is fleeting and change is inevitable. Famed environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy illuminates his process, saying, “I have become aware of how nature is in a state of change and how that change is the key to understanding. I want my art to be sensitive and alert to changes in material, season and weather.” (Andy Goldsworthy Digital Catalog).
Much of Belgian artist Bob Verschueren’s work hinges on the degradation process, offering reflections on questions of time and the innate connections between life and death. His wind paintings of the 1970s and 80s consisted of lines of mineral matter, such as charcoal, iron oxide, chalk, flour, yellow ochre, and other pigments, placed onto a stretch of empty landscape. Once in place, the piece instantly begins its process of fading away; Verschueren waits while the wind takes over, dictating the course of the work as it blows the the material across the canvas, which is the ground. Bob Verschueren sought to be guided by nature and relished in “living his art rather than creating it.”
For many nature artists, the impermanence of natural materials and the is what motivates them to create. British land artist Richard Shilling expounds on inclination towards ephemeral creation: “Throughout nature order is brought from chaos and then returned back to chaos. Ephemeral art mimics that quite distinctly and reveals to you lots about how things grow and subsequently decay.. There is a point a sculpture reaches where it is as its most vibrant and it is then that I take pictures, often just before it completely falls apart. There is a tension and vividness revealed through their delicateness. The process is a parallel of life” (Artful Parent).
Process of decay over 2 months
Process of decay over 6 weeks