In Search of the Center: MAPPING BEGINS: ROBERT MORRIS

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

MAPPING BEGINS: ROBERT MORRIS

2 comments:

j. russell said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; December 14, 2008 at 9:22 PM
j. russell said...: The Art Inventories Catalog from the Smithsonian has this posted about Morris's piece:

"Funded with a National Endowment for the Arts, Art in Public Places grant of $30,000 given in 1979 to the King County Arts Commission. The work was conceived and constructed in 1979 as part of a regional earthworks symposium, "Earthworks: Land Reclamation as Sculpture," in which seven artists discussed and created reclamation landscape art. The King County Arts Commission elected to create Robert Morris' proposal at a former gravel pit, Johnson Pit #30, which the artist selected. The Morris proposal involved regrading the 4.5 acre site, leaving a "ghost forest" of fifteen, eight-foot tall alder tree stumps. In 1984, Barbara Swift designed a viewing area for the project.
From 1994 to 1997, in consultation with the artist, restoration of the site resulting in a new entrance and viewing area, which replaced the original Barbara Swift design. The new design features a 1/4 mile perimeter trail with a bench designed by Morris, stairways allowing access into the work, and new signs with interpretive text. The restoration also replaced the fifteen alder tree stumps, which over time had decayed, with fifteen logs of yellow cedar harvested and transported to the site. Two catch basins were also added to direct water runoff.
The original site signage, which appeared on a broken bulldozer blade, read: Earth Work Sculpture Robert Morris/A Land Reclamation Project of the King County Arts Commission, 1979 Earth Work Symposium. Following the restoration, the bulldozer blade was replaced with a glacial boulder, and the signage was replaced with interpretive text that includes site facts derived from a lecture given by the artist in 1979."; April 30, 2009 at 2:30 AM

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Past Subtitles:

and for one of those laser pointers from McDonald Observatory that looks as if it touches the stars.
and Radar, Chainsaw, Meatball, Cheeseball, Oatmeal, and Button Omelet.
and a yellow pocket knife and a cinema to go see Bruno.
and another three hours this evening to finish the blog before our 9 AM wake-up call.
and more space on Nancy's computer, a plan for the "Dudd" pool, and tomorrow to last forever.
and a room we can talk in that doesn't involve holding in laughter while Mark is sleeping in the bed six feet away.
and the fastest eight hour drive we've ever done (to Marfa tomorrow).
and NO RAIN in AMARILLO (or the ramp is off).
and the hunt for food that is not Mexican continues.
a restaurant that is not Mexican, no alarms, and an empty swimming pool.
an easy way to download audio files on blogger
and lightning at Walter DeMaria's Lightning Field in Quemado, NM
and a slow day with nothing much happening so we don't have to update the blog.
and a day in the desert sun that doesn't produce a headache.
and luck for tomorrow's drive.
and a helium tank (CHECK), a pilot (CHECK), and a night's sleep consisting of more than five hours (CHECK).
AND A MOTEL IN FLAGSTAFF THAT HAS HIGH SPEED INTERNET, SWEET DREAMS BEFORE WE WAKE UP TO GET THERE, AND OUR LATEST VIDEO TO UPLOAD FASTER THAN EVER BEFORE!
and margaritas and a good meal in Las Vegas.
and Ed Ruscha at Bryce Canyon
AND a fast internet connection and a working dryer in Panguitch, UT
When we say "searching for the center", we do not mean Center, Texas