Richard Long produces Earth Sculptures, that are an investigation of the human scale of the landscape. The work is abstract and requires the viewer to use their imagination to complete the work, by thinking of the spaces and the walks Long has been on. The walks are the medium and they may be recorded as sculpture, photograph, postcard, poster, art book, text work. Gallery work brings some elements of the Earth indoors to reflect an idea, place or time. His work combines ideas with actions, such as following a line, a river bed, or the trajectory of a thrown stone. His interventions with the landscape are minimal, and subtly change the lie of the land, rather than excavate large holes in it, so maintaining a respectful relationship with nature rather than domination.
Walking is a mediation and through the work produced, he explores the natural world and shares a sense of human scale by documenting his ideas and actioned walks.
Richard Long: Haven and Earth at Tate Britain in 2009
Clarrie Wallis curator of the Richard Long: Haven and Earth at Tate Britain in 2009 presented a lunchtime talk on the exhibition, my notes from listening to the recording (Tate 2009) are below.
Notes from talk
- Richard Long “realist, abstract art lay down in real spaces of the Earth.” Long uses “real landscape that still dominates the majority of Earth surface”. Landscape itself becomes art object. He does not consider himself to be a Land Artist. Longs art is “ground in direct contact with the landscape, but also made of it.”
- Art theory of the 1960’s was discussing the dematerialization of art, with it falling into 2 categories of idea (matter denied) or action (matter transformed) (will need to return to this in the future as not so sure what this really means!) Additionally a new type of art was being developed, that was a direct experience of being in contact with the actual Earth. The Minimalist in the 1960’s were interested in scale of work and Long explored this through his work.
- St Martins College in 1966 Long attended the Sculpture (A course) advanced course but radical in approach to enrolling students and how they studied. The course was considering how the nature and purpose of sculpture as art object was more related to the process of it’s creation. Gilbert and George attended same course. Cultural the 1960s were age of great change with contemporary society reflecting on what next as post-industrial and post-colonial nation. Ephemeral, works, related to time and decay.
- Walks are the medium. The human scale of walking is important in determining the scale of the work . Longs work explored scale of distance travelled, with various ideas acted out (actioned), such as following straight lines through mountains, walking path of river bed, or simply following the trajectory of a thrown stone to determine the direction of a walk around a mountain.
- Love of nature and walking, is reflected in Longs work in rural, remote Britain or beyond in natural Worldly landscapes. Whilst walking he “adjusts the natural placement of rocks or vegetation.” This is subtle by up ending rocks, or placing pebbles in different grade orders on the beach, recording the track of a snowball created. I would describe this as minimal impact.
- Forms used. Long uses and repeats uses of natural forms of line, cross, circle, spiral in his work.
- Document. The art work produced may document a walk, by photograph, map, text work, these are titled to ensure the element of importance, such as the place, or medium is highlighted. Work includes, walks, sculpture, prints, photos, art books, text.
- Sculptural work mentioned produced whilst still a student (short description rather than title), snowball track, grass track walks, Andes stone circle, turf circle (cut in neighbors garden), models of places visited, Hitchhike to Ben Nevis takings photographs at 11am of sky and ground- up and down. Cycling sculpture with 16 components (yellow and blue cross) each cross left separate location so actual sculpture covers a vast perimeter area and can only be imagined.
- Photography used initially as document, Longs photos considered a “public freehold” with Longs right to retake photos. Long realised that photograph was an alternative art medium. At Gibson exhibition in 1969 he enlarged tiny photographs (stored in tobacco tin) into posters to display at exhibition. The photo can be a work in it’s own right, it is putting the work into the public domain, and an art object itself. Different ways to present art as photograph, postcard, artist book, sculpture and text, all having equal value. The artbook becomes the work of art.
- Text records walk in a new way as a sculptural walk. Neutral treatment of words. Initial ironic treatment but developed into rhymes & structure of walks, words arranged to reflect walk
- Gallery work. Ideas brought into gallery spaces, such as arrangement of wood in square in gallery and aligned to match scale, position of sun, distance, co-ordinates outside. Investigating time distance memory travel. Uses natural elements, position and place paralleling work made outdoors in a landscape.
- Geographical co-ordinates. features or rivers, co-ordinates, scale of space, 100mile walks with stones dropped at intervals, a way of marking distance and human scale realised.
- John Cage influence. 1960’s world itself is a work of art, influenced Long making circles walked in an hour in grass, inner small radius walked very slowly, outer circles moving quicker.
- Viewer position explored. Viewer, distance to work, alignment, space, vanishing points became important. Long interested by Alfred Watkins work on Leylines and Aztec land lines at vast scale.
- US Land Art. Long involved in US exhibition, 10 artists, mostly US united by working with organic matter. US tended to be related to excavations and earth works, mechanized shifting of the earth, rather than working with nature, walking in nature, with no clutter.
- Human scale. Long shares his pleasure of being in the landscape and walking. By walking Long explores the human scale, measuring space, scale and time, it combines action and idea, the action of walking, with the ideas used. Investigating how our own physical engagement to understand the World and how ” measure the world against ourselves”.
References
Long, R. (2017) Richard Long [online] Available at: http://www.richardlong.org/ [Accessed 24 May 2017].
Tate (2009). Richard Long: Curator’s Talk. [online] Available at: http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/audio/richard-long-curators-talk [Accessed 23 May 2017].
Illustrations
Figure 1 Long, R. (1967) A line made by walking [Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper and graphite on board] At: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/long-a-line-made-by-walking-p07149 (accessed on 24 May 2017)
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