Fad or Fabric

Stephanie,

Thanks for your remarks here.

On the issue of place as a defining term, I agree that it is part of a very long continuum. (See Paul Shepard’s Man in the Landscape: An Historic View of the Esthetics of Nature for excellent historical tracking.) Still, I am growing convinced that a new chapter has either begun or is still emerging in infant stages. I say this for several reasons; the primary backdrop being that green issues are no longer perceived by many as fringe, leftist or elite (for the most part). Artists working in this space appear to have more room to be positive and forward leaning. In the post-Katrina era, there’s much more of an interested and accepting audience base. (But then again, perhaps the artists are faced with less risk taking, for better or worse.) Another development is the first generation of students and artists who have graduated from the school of green education. Finally, the primary era of earth works and land art has distanced itself over time. That major shows like After Nature and Beyond Green are popping up more regularly says to me that they are reflecting a heightened social as well as artistic focus over recent years, which may have started some years before Katrina. Can we call it the “Katrina Movement?” (Perhaps you can tell that I have a more political background; we like to talk in terms of movements.”) Then again, maybe it’s less movement and more explosion; something that folks involved in sustainability are worried about—that these concerns are more fad than fabric.

Tell me more about the Heartland show. Its themes of center and periphery seem to relate to the Suddenly: Where We Live Now exhibition currently up at the Cooley Gallery at Reed College (reed.edu/gallery). It’s interesting that Beyond Green and Suddenly are running at the same time in the same city.

Those of us around the magazine are growing tired of the terms “place-based,” “environmental art,” the all-too-awkward “eco-art,” and even to a degree “sustainability.” Perhaps it’s best not to try and define at all, but I have to say something in my grants. I am tending now toward “landscape-based;” it seems general enough to cover a lot of ground but with some measure of specificity. Do you have a preferred term to describe this work?

Say you were to start Beyond Green 2 this year, which new artist (s) would you have to include?

I’m going to hear Andrea Zittel speak tonight at Portland State University. Knowing Portland, it will likely be a packed house. I’ll let you know what she has to say.

For those chiming in, please try and be more specific than general. Also, if you set yourself up to “follow this blog,” you should receive emails on each new posting.