The Ethics of Earth Art

Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, General Art, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy
Cover of the book The Ethics of Earth Art by Amanda Boetzkes, University of Minnesota Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Amanda Boetzkes ISBN: 9781452942674
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press Publication: November 30, 2013
Imprint: Univ Of Minnesota Press Language: English
Author: Amanda Boetzkes
ISBN: 9781452942674
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
Publication: November 30, 2013
Imprint: Univ Of Minnesota Press
Language: English

Since its inception in the 1960s, the earth art movement has sought to make visible the elusive presence of nature. Though most often associated with monumental land-based sculptures, earth art encompasses a wide range of media, from sculpture, body art performances, and installations to photographic interventions, public protest art, and community projects.

In The Ethics of Earth Art, Amanda Boetzkes analyzes the development of the earth art movement, arguing that such diverse artists as Robert Smithson, Ana Mendieta, James Turrell, Jackie Brookner, Olafur Eliasson, Basia Irland, and Ichi Ikeda are connected through their elucidation of the earth as a domain of ethical concern. Boetzkes contends that in basing their works’ relationship to the natural world on receptivity rather than representation, earth artists take an ethical stance that counters both the instrumental view that seeks to master nature and the Romantic view that posits a return to a mythical state of unencumbered continuity with nature. By incorporating receptive surfaces into their work—film footage of glaring sunlight, an aperture in a chamber that opens to the sky, or a porous armature on which vegetation grows—earth artists articulate the dilemma of representation that nature presents.

Revealing the fundamental difference between the human world and the earth, Boetzkes shows that earth art mediates the sensations of nature while allowing nature itself to remain irreducible to human signification.

Since its inception in the 1960s, the earth art movement has sought to make visible the elusive presence of nature. Though most often associated with monumental land-based sculptures, earth art encompasses a wide range of media, from sculpture, body art performances, and installations to photographic interventions, public protest art, and community projects.

In The Ethics of Earth Art, Amanda Boetzkes analyzes the development of the earth art movement, arguing that such diverse artists as Robert Smithson, Ana Mendieta, James Turrell, Jackie Brookner, Olafur Eliasson, Basia Irland, and Ichi Ikeda are connected through their elucidation of the earth as a domain of ethical concern. Boetzkes contends that in basing their works’ relationship to the natural world on receptivity rather than representation, earth artists take an ethical stance that counters both the instrumental view that seeks to master nature and the Romantic view that posits a return to a mythical state of unencumbered continuity with nature. By incorporating receptive surfaces into their work—film footage of glaring sunlight, an aperture in a chamber that opens to the sky, or a porous armature on which vegetation grows—earth artists articulate the dilemma of representation that nature presents.

Revealing the fundamental difference between the human world and the earth, Boetzkes shows that earth art mediates the sensations of nature while allowing nature itself to remain irreducible to human signification.

More books from University of Minnesota Press

Cover of the book Producers, Parasites, Patriots by Amanda Boetzkes
Cover of the book West of Center by Amanda Boetzkes
Cover of the book The Construction of Equality by Amanda Boetzkes
Cover of the book Native American DNA by Amanda Boetzkes
Cover of the book Taconite Dreams by Amanda Boetzkes
Cover of the book Simultaneous Worlds by Amanda Boetzkes
Cover of the book The Assemblage Brain by Amanda Boetzkes
Cover of the book Making Things International 2 by Amanda Boetzkes
Cover of the book Asking the Audience by Amanda Boetzkes
Cover of the book Of Walking in Ice by Amanda Boetzkes
Cover of the book Biko's Ghost by Amanda Boetzkes
Cover of the book Debating the End of History by Amanda Boetzkes
Cover of the book Out of Time by Amanda Boetzkes
Cover of the book Brown Threat by Amanda Boetzkes
Cover of the book A Geology of Media by Amanda Boetzkes
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy