Alan Sonfist is perhaps the ultimate purist of the Earthworks movement.
His projects never violate or impinge upon the natural order of a place.
They serve as signifiers to the history of the land, incorporating and
highlighting prior natural events. In Sonfist’s early work, he proposed
to create a museum of air so that people could experience the air of the
world in different environments and see how our atmosphere has changed
with the changing environment. He also proposed to rename the streets in
New York City to be identified with the native animals and geology that
no longer exists within the city. His art often centers on the
restoration and regeneration of natural landscapes, using as materials
the once ubiquitous native flora of a region, its rock and earth
formations, and water. He creates a living monument to an area’s natural
past by recreating forests on disabused city lots or enshrining bronze
castings of trees within arrangements of plantings for sites both
within metropolises and in locations more remote around the world. He
has displayed core samples of the substrata beneath office buildings
removed during construction as commissioned pieces for the lobby. As
intriguing as these concepts are today, in the late 1960’s, when his
work first became widely recognized, this sort of things was completely
unheard of. Sonfist’s efforts have helped to reshape the way that art is
thought of and experienced, making him one of the seminal figures of
recent conceptual art.
CHRISTOPHER CHAMBERS: What are the costs of producing an Earthwork today
as compared to the early 1970s or late 1960s when you first developed
the concept of Environmental Art, and executed your first efforts in the
field?
ALAN SONFIST: The costs involved parallel the fluctuations of the
economy in general, and of course reflect the requirements of each
individual project. The appreciation of my Environmental Landscapes
resonates in the value of the land they exist on. The Time Landscape of
Tampa, Florida in the early 1990’s required redeveloping the entire
area. At that time it cost $14,000,000. I transformed seven acres of a
dilapidated warehouse strip into an ecological artwork that unfolds the
natural beauty of the site’s history. The challenge was to include the
history and ecology of the area, while considering the concerns of the
community. The history was scattered and vague; I had to draw on many
sources. The park is a composite of the input from plant historians and
specialists. Long before early colonialists established Tampa as a major
trading post for tobacco, the indigenous people had begun filling solid
earth into the wild marsh beaches. Later, it became a railroad hub, and
then an insurance center. Each of these human periods represents a
change in the ecology, from the Mangrove to contemporary ornamental
planting.
I have worked with the parks department and the city to create
environmental landscapes like this one. I also work on private
commissions. For a townhouse in Toronto, I created a landscape of the
geology of the region through the multiple ice ages. All of the plants
are descendants from the ones that existed in the transitional periods
during and after the three ice ages that we know of. With the help of
the shade from the townhouse, the plants were in complete compatibility
with the environment. The plants and materials are selected according to
the environmental conditions such as light, air quality, and moisture.
These factors keep the cost of the project from ballooning to
accommodate the untimely deaths of unsuitable plant life. This project
cost $100,000 to create, but has almost doubled the market value of the
townhouse. The property itself is now a living artwork.
C.C.: How is your fee determined?
A.S.: I usually receive eight to fifteen percent of the total cost. It
varies from project to project, depending on the needs of the site and
my involvement. Starting with the concept, I can allow a separate party
to execute the project, or I can continue the project myself. This
involves the research of the site, finding the materials, and
supervising the construction.
C.C.: Please compare the various bureaucratic procedures involved in
creating your living sculptures, i.e. public versus private (government,
corporate or individual) commissions.
A.S.: In general, I prefer working with private individuals and
corporations. The process tends to be economically efficient. In several
of my corporate commissions, I have been able to find creative solutions
that cost the client less money. Governmental commissions, in contrast,
are not responsive to cost savings.
The Time Landscape, my first major commission, was a blend of public and
private sponsorship. I had responsibility for the budget, and I was able
to seek out the most efficient individual contractors in the city. In
Italy when I built Circles of Time for the Gori family the artwork
involved moving a part of the grove into a circle. Instead of
choppingthe trees down and planting new ones, I was able to work out a
technique to transplant the 200-year-old olive grove. Circles of Time
consists of a series of rings that represent the natural history, from
prehistory to contemporary. My transplantation method has become a
standard part of the estate’s maintenance.
C.C.: What is the intrinsic and residual value of a site determined
artwork, and how does it affect property (real estate) value?
A.S.: The artwork inevitably enhances the site, adding value to the real
estate. Instead of generic, anonymous corporate landscaping, which
require continual maintenance, my landscapes are natural and
environmentally symbiotic. They are unique among corporate landscapes,
and attract public attention to the corporation’s building, enhancing
the corporation’s public image.
My Time Landscape in Manhattan has been given Landmark status by the
mayor, which is a very rare treat for contemporary art. Time Landscape
is a pre-Colonial outpost in the middle of one of the most modern cities
in the world, that visualizes the open wooded areas of trees, flowers,
and undergrowth of the past. It has become a resting point for the
migratory birds and tourists that pass through Manhattan. On clear days
in the spring and fall, one can see bird watchers hovering around the
site.
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C.C.: Your works
incorporate time, both in the historical context, and in consideration
of the work’s physical future. How is the conservation of the work
factored in, in respect to erosion and other entropic forces?
A.S.: In all of my sculptural environments, maintenance and liability
are internal components of the artwork. The plants are indigenous, and
the formations follow the natural, historic growth.
Additionally, the indigenous plants bring historical reference to the
building. The plants are selected for their compatibility with the
interior of the building as well as the exterior. Maintenance becomes
minimal.
The individuality of the landscape is the payoff.
C.C: Can a work of
land sculpture be moved or recreated with integrity as an authentic
commodity, and who retains the copyrights?
A.S.: Anything is possible. In the 21st century, we have the
technology to move buildings. The landscapes are intended to become a
permanent part of the community, but can easily be donated. They are
lasting symbols of the individuals or companies who donated them, like
the Picasso sculpture in Chicago. It has become a unique entity under
the proud ownership of the corporation.
My sculptures can and have been moved and resold.
I can envision, as our natural resources become scarce and valuable
commodities, that landscapes will be bought, sold, and transplanted.
Certain hardwood trees are already on the market with price tags of up
to $30,000 apiece. Creating an artistic environment with these species
enhances their value more.
C.C.: Regarding resale: to your knowledge, has a parcel of land been
sold as a sculpture?
A.S.: In our society, everything can be sold. Rauschenberg and Warhol
made famous the idea of transferring popular images to canvas, and
selling them as artwork. Early on, these art works were given away.
Now they’re auctioned for millions.
C.C.: Has an Earthwork ever been taken to auction?
A.S.: No, but I expect that it will happen in the future, as they
become a part of art history.
C.C.: Do you also produce more object-oriented works?
A.S.: Yes. I’ve always felt that the direct hand of the artist should
be involved in the creation of art. The artworks that sold for
hundreds of dollars in my early career have doubled in value every
five years, such as my photography I have been taking photographs
since I was a child. In my early exhibits, I would always show my
nature-related photographs. In the early 1970’s, I had a
photographic-collage show at Leo Castelli’s gallery. Each photograph
showed time elements, as in my Time Landscapes. They showed the
seasonal changes as well as viewing-point changes, creating a sort of
cubist portrayal of nature. As in my Time Landscapes, they offer
juxtaposed time. They are simultaneous records of the past, present,
and future.
C.C.: Do you operate within the traditional gallery structure?
A.S.: Yes. My most recent sculpture were exhibited at the Santa Fe Art
Institute Gallery last summer. The artwork visualizes the fragile
balance between nature and the human environment. Rapid forest fires
are ravaging North America’s historic forests at this moment. While
these fires are not set by human hands, they are the environment’s
response to the cumulative human interaction with nature. Nature’s
force is evident in our difficulty combating the fires. The smoke and
ash effect our daily lives. The change in the visual landscape is
drastic. Through my art, I mourn the loss of the indigenous trees,
while paying a silent homage to nature’s contrary ferocity.
I have selected a section of the damaged forests of New Mexico to
represent the devastation of forests across North America. Each tree
is a fingerprint of its own destruction, from semi-charred limbs to
trunks entirely exploded from the heat.
C.C.: You have been known to flatly refuse to have your recent
projects published or even discuss your new ideas publicly - which is
why, by the way, I have refrained from discussing any of your numerous
current projects, and stuck to a business oriented format. - While
your exclusive policy certainly wards off imitators, how does it
affect business?
A.S: My work has been widely copied in recent years, so I am careful
about what I allow to be published. At this point in my career, I
don’t have the time or energy to pursue each case legally. I am
constantly busy with a number of commissions, and am very selective
about which projects I will accept.
Of course, I don’t have complete control over the media. This summer,
the Burning Forest (Santa Fe) was featured on the front page of the
local newspaper while in it was in progress, as well as receiving
television coverage.
As far as the affect on business, I really hadn’t thought about it. My
work has been included in all contemporary art history books about
environmental art. I am more interested in the long-term influence my
art will have in the environment and the people who support it. My art
comes from my inner dreams about the environment.
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Portions of the above are
reprinted from a previous text with the permission of Dorsky Gallery
Curatorial Programs, LIC, NY.
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