Biography and artwork’s explication (Associated links: Wikipedia , Nancy Holt site, Page, Observatoire du Land Art) :
Nancy Holt (born April , 1938) is an Amercian artist famous for her sculptures, installations and Land art. During her career, Holt has also produced works in other mediums, including film, photography, and writing.
Land art emerged in the 1960s, coinciding with a growing ecology movement in the United States, which asked people to become more aware of the negative impact they had on the natural environment.
Land art changed views on art; because it breaks with the classical conception of the gallery or museum format. This art includes elements from the environment and due to its nature has an intergral ephemerality. Unlike much of commercial art, land art could not be bought or sold on the art market, and in its efforts changed the meaning of art and the way it was portrayed globally.
It’s important to know the meaning of each of Land Art’s works; for example Holt’s works of art often deal with issues of how people perceive time and space. Her monumental work completes the environment. Works such as Hydra’s Head is created to be harmonious with the land and not just to stand on it. The pools in this work are at the top of concrete tubes imbedded in the ground. The land already at the site surrounds these pools. They reflect the natural landscape, while not disturbing it. Holt thinks about human scale in relation to the work she creates. People can interact with the works and become more aware of space, of their own visual perception, and of the order of the universe. Holt’s works incorporate the passage of time and also function to keep time. For example, Annual Ring functions so that when sunlight falls through the hole in the dome and fits perfectly into a ring on the ground, it is solar noon in the summer soltice. At different times, the sun falls differently on the work and other holes in the dome align with celestial occurrences. Holt has said that she is concerned with making art that not only makes an impact visually, but is also functional and necessary in society, as seen in works like Sky Mound, which serves a dual function as a sculpture and park and also generates alternative energy.
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The Land Art 