Art & the Landscape
The Trustees
Multiple Sites
2015-2020
Art and Landscape, was initiated by The Trustees, the country’s first land trust dedicated to conservation, in order to illuminate and transform how the public experiences their iconic properties. The goal was to develop a platform to engage audiences with contemporary art by inviting artists to create site-specific installations. Therefore, embracing the Trustee’s formidable characteristics of stunning natural settings and historical relevance. Each project was developed on the premise of pairing the sites distinct features with the ideal artists based on their existing practice and potential to realize a singular work. The program leveraged the unique attributes of The Trustee sites to develop singular projects with artists, presenting inimitable opportunities to develop works that could not happen anywhere else.
Until Art and the Landscape, all of my work has taken place within the urban environment, on city walls and inside museums. This initiative, allowed me to take my work one step further, out of the urban environment and into natural and rural settings. Without urban infrastructure to serve as a canvas, a new strategy emerged, one of context, site and intentional engagement. My family was my guide. We began to visit the properties together. Watching my kids navigate the properties, picking up sticks, sledding down hills, or climbing trees, I realized that we had a venue for something totally different. Working with the Trustees, we developed a program that is committed to presenting interactive, playful art on sites with rich histories and stunning landscapes to unsuspecting audiences that attend the properties for many activities other than art. We present artworks that are about experience, not just contemplation. The key was to provide a platform for artists to change their intention from making art that is primarily meant to be looked at, to art that the public can interact with.
Artists
Sam Durant: The Meeting House, July 15 – October 31, 2016
Jeppe Hein: A New End, August 26, 2016 – October 31, 2017
Alicja Kwade: TunnelTeller, May 19, 2018 – April 1, 2020
Doug Aitken: New Horizon, July 12-28, 2019
Guest curator: Pedro Alonzo
Sam Durant: IG @studiosamdurant / samdurant.net
Jeppe Hein: IG @jeppehein / jeppehein.net/
Alicja Kwade: IG @alicjakwade / alicjakwade.com
Doug Aitken: IG @dougaitkenworkshop /dougaitkenworkshop.com/
Photo credits: Above Summit, Peter Vanderwarker Photography, Carmen Ellis, Jamie Barron