Environmental art is typically temporary, often not intended to last for longer than a few hours.Often environmental art is meant to improve or broaden ones relationship with the natural world. Environmental art can also refer to art which deals with ecological issues in a social context. Often environmental art is associated with sculpture or photography.
"Incredible Serpentine Root", Andy Goldworthy, created in??
This piece by Andy Goldworthy is just really cool. It is a great example of environmental art, as it’s very transitory, one expects the sand to wash away at any moment. Andy Goldworthy is one of my favorite environmental artists, due to the simple and elegant nature of his work.
"Icicle Star", joined with saliva, Andy Goldworthy, date??
I could almost consider Goldworthy’s art as “found art” due to the high availability of his materials – he generally seems to use objects that are easily and naturally available. For example, in Icicle Star above, he uses not only naturally found icicles, but combines them together with his own saliva – talk about an opportunist.
"Goosefeathers", Andy Goldworthy, date??? Could not find any dates on the webpage...
I also really like his goal, which is to better understand nature by participating in it.. It’s a humble and simple goal which mirrors his humble art, like Goosefeathers, found above.
This is especially evident when one considers how other types of environmental art are trying to stir the masses, like the following artists.
"Wrapped Coast", by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, One Million Square Feet, Little Bay, Australia, 1968-69
This installation by the Claude’s depicts a wrapped up coast, which literally spanned one million square feet. This is a great example of environmental art, as it is obviously not intended to last, but it’s huge and very dramatic, immediately grabbing the viewer’s attention. The piece was held together for 10 weeks, and then disassembled with all materials being recycled.
"Wrapped Walk Ways", by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Loose Park, Kansas City, Missouri. 1977-78
One of the things I admire about the Claude’s work is the highly public nature. While I’m not 100% sure of what the Claude’s message is, I would argue that the main idea is to bring the public’s attention to the area involved in the piece. For example, the wrapped coast, or the wrapped walkaways are directly in the public sphere… the viewer has no choice but to become involved in the work (especially the walkway!), and it seems to almost challenge the viewer.
"Give if you can, take if you have to" by Jacek Tylicki, Palolem Island, India 2008
This is one of my favorite environmental art pieces, by Jacek Tylicki. I like that it is more social than ecological in it’s nature. It’s simple and has a clear, direct message, allowing the viewer to interact in almost infinite ways. What is especially interesting about it is that it’s constantly able to change – not just the physical nature of it (though the objects do change), but also depending upon how people engage themselves in it, the message can change. For example, if a passerby takes the money, but doesn’t need it, what is that saying about our society?
Environmental art is incredibly interesting and I had no exposure to it before this course. I learned a lot through this assignment and I hope I was a little interesting to you. 
WORKS CITED:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_art
http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/
http://www.morning-earth.org/ARTISTNATURALISTS/AN_Goldsworthy.html
5 comments
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September 14, 2010 at 6:00 am
nathan maxwell
This is a very interesting selection of environmental art. I’m familiar with some of the Claude’s work but not these particular pieces. i especially liked ‘Wrapped Coast’ and it’s big, dramatic feel. But my favorite selection is ‘Incredible Serpentine Root’ by Andy Goldworthy. I always gravitate towards nature themes and this is very organic and original. Your description is great! I’m not sure what I think about the last piece – “Give if you can, take if you have to”, not my favorite but your comments are interesting. Thanks for choosing environmental art as something different to create an exhibit on. No dates but that’s understandable with this type of art.
September 21, 2010 at 2:34 am
demeterdiscount
I really loved your selections and you tied them together beautifully. You covered all the factual information about the pieces. I also had trouble finding dates on many modern pieces.
My favorite of the pieces you chose was Wrapped Coast, just the immensity was astounding.
September 17, 2011 at 6:43 pm
sirislater
Good job discussing your interpretation of the art and what the artist was trying to express. I like that you have several different forms exhibited. As you questioned what the artists were trying to express, I too questioned the intent of some of these pieces. I think Christo was so smart with the creation of the Wrapped Coast. By forcing the public to become immersed in the art because of where it is located the artist can insure the perspective from which this art is viewed.
November 3, 2011 at 1:17 am
bekahblog
Steph,
You didn’t always include all the factual information for all of the pieces though you did a good job connecting them to your theme of Environmental art. For the works with dates included, they all followed the guideline for being done after 1975 but I feel that you could have included more information about each of the selected artists. I also really enjoy Environmental art and find it fascinating when it is done in urban areas where the public can interact with it. How do you think Environmental art will progress into the future? Do you think it will continue to be popular?
December 3, 2011 at 11:09 pm
johnscott5
I only saw 4 works in this blog. I was wondering if the two missing works by Christo and Jeanne-Claude used to be there but then got removed because the authors didn’t want them published. I also didn’t like the lack of information on the published works, or on the biographies of the artists. There was some good commentary on the poster’s reactions to the work, though. As mentioned in my blog, I really liked the outdoor environmental artwork.