Land art
Art movement using natural materials in remote sites, rejecting commercialization.
Land art—also called Earth art, environmental art, or Earthworks—took shape as a movement in the 1960s and 1970s, with most of its early activity centered in Great Britain and the United States, though artists in many other countries also contributed. The movement pushed past the usual limits of art by working with natural materials found on-site—dirt, stones, plants, and water—and by placing works far from cities, often in remote areas. Because these pieces can be hard to reach, photographers typically document them and bring the images back to urban galleries. At its core, the movement rejects the commercial side of art-making and connects with the early environmental movement, reflecting a turn away from city life and a spiritual sense of the Earth as humanity’s home.
The movement emerged partly as a reaction against art that could be easily bought and sold, unlike the monumental, site-specific projects that could not be transported. Its roots lie in minimal art and conceptual art, as well as earlier modern movements such as De Stijl, Cubism, and the work of Constantin Brâncuși and Joseph Beuys. One early earthworks artist was Herbert Bayer, who created *Grass Mound* in Colorado in 1955. Land art also draws on older traditions of hill figures and geoglyphs, such as the Litlington White Horse in East Sussex, a 20th-century example cut into a hillside to reveal natural chalk, requiring ongoing maintenance against vegetation. Many land artists had backgrounds in minimalism and conceptualism. Isamu Noguchi’s 1941 design for a playground in New York is sometimes seen as an early land art piece, though he considered it simply sculpture. Alan Sonfist took a different approach by bringing historical nature back into cities, most notably with *Time Landscape*, an indigenous forest planted in New York City. Critic Barbara Rose noted in 1969 that Sonfist had become disillusioned with the commodification of gallery art. The movement’s relationship with the environment raises tensions: recent preservation efforts for works like *Spiral Jetty* may conflict with the original intent to let them change or disappear through natural forces, and plans for nearby oil drilling have stirred opposition from artists and activists.
- field
- Art movement
- known_for
- Monumental landscape projects using natural materials, rejection of commercial art market
- associated_regions
- Great Britain, United States, and many other countries
Lore & Background
Land art gained traction in the 1960s and 1970s as it could not easily be turned into a commodity, unlike the mass-produced cultural debris of the time. Proponents rejected the museum or gallery as the setting of artistic activity and developed monumental landscape projects beyond the reach of traditional transportable sculpture and the commercial art market, though photographic documentation was often presented in normal gallery spaces. The movement was inspired by minimal art and conceptual art, as well as modern movements such as De Stijl, Cubism, minimalism, and the work of Constantin Brâncuși and Joseph Beuys. While land art emerged as a formal movement in the 1960s, it draws on much older traditions of hill figures and geoglyphs, such as the Litlington White Horse in East Sussex, a 20th-century example of an earthwork created through the subtractive method of cutting into the hillside to reveal natural chalk beneath.
Reader's Guide
Land art's significance lies in its challenge to the commodification of art and its engagement with ecological and environmental concerns. The movement expanded the definition of sculpture by using the earth itself as both material and site, often in remote locations. The movement also influenced later environmental art and sustainable practices, as seen in Alan Sonfist's Time Landscape in New York City, an indigenous forest planted to bring historical nature back into urban space. Recent efforts to preserve land art, such as Spiral Jetty, raise questions about its original purpose and openness to change, including disappearance. Modern exhibitions like the Fly Ranch exhibition in 2021 focus on art that also functions as animal shelters, solar farms, planters, and water cleaners, reflecting ongoing environmental ideals. Land art's legacy includes its role in inspiring artists to envision and realize a greener, more primordial future, as noted by Adam Weinberg, director emeritus of the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Did You Know?
- Alan Sonfist's Time Landscape is an indigenous forest he planted in New York City, bringing historical nature back into the urban environment.
- The 1968 group exhibition 'Earthworks' at the Dwan Gallery in New York was one of the first land art exhibitions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Land art and when did it emerge?
Land art—also called Earth art, Earthworks, or environmental art—is a movement that took shape in the 1960s and 1970s. It is defined by creating large-scale works directly in the landscape using materials like soil, rock, water, and vegetation gathered from the site itself.
Where is Land art most associated geographically?
While the movement is most strongly linked to Great Britain and the United States, examples have been produced in many other countries around the world, making it a genuinely international practice.
What makes Land art different from traditional gallery art?
Its central act of rebellion was turning its back on the commercial art market and the white-cube gallery. Instead of painting on canvas or sculpting in a studio, artists chose remote, often hard-to-reach locations and let the natural environment become both the medium and the frame.
How do audiences actually experience Land art if the sites are so remote?
Because many works sit in deserts, fields, or other isolated settings, most viewers encounter them through photographic documentation that curators bring back into urban galleries and publications. The photographs become a secondary artwork in their own right.
Why do fans consider Land art a pivotal moment in visual-art history?
It shattered the assumption that a finished object must be produced in a studio, sold, and displayed indoors. By making the landscape itself the canvas and the earth the pigment, the movement permanently widened what people accept as a legitimate artistic act.
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