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Newsletter

A publication of Ski Landscape Corporation

July, 2023

From Nature to Land Art

By Ann Wolski

Land Art, also known as Earth Art, Environmental Art and Earthworks, began as an art movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s protesting the commercialization of art in America. Land artists took their creative inspirations out into nature rejecting the museum or gallery as a way to display their artwork. They chose to develop monumental landscape projects by sculpting the land itself or by making structures in the landscape with natural materials such as soil, rocks, vegetation and water. Because these stunning land art projects could be inaccessible to most people, photo documentations ended up hanging in urban art galleries.

Characteristics of land art:

1. Land art is site-specific and must incorporate the landscape.

2. Land art must blend natural and man-made elements.

3. Land art changes with time.

4. Land art can vary widely in scale and size.

In the beginning most land artists were attracted to vast open spaces and the emptiness of the American west. “Spiral Jetty” by Robert Smithson is one of the most famous earthworks in existence. It is located in the Great Salt Lake of Utah and was made from basalt, colored salt crystals and mud all sourced from the lake itself. Since its creation, “Spiral Jetty” has been completely covered and then uncovered again, by water.

Archaeologists believe the world’s oldest known land art dates back 45,500 years ago to a limestone cave on the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi. Other notable land art works include Stonehenge, the Pyramids, Native American Mounds and burial grounds, the Nazca Lines in Peru and the Carnac Stones in France.

Land art closer to home

“Confluence” is a land art sculpture designed by Robert Stackhouse and Carol Mickett. It sits on the grounds of the Indianapolis Art Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. “Confluence” consists of 100 tons of Indiana limestone cascading in height in a 70-foot boat-like shape. The second part of the artwork lies along the White River.

Why is pruning beneficial for perennials?

First of all, pruning helps keep your plants healthy, simply because you’re removing dead or diseased materials. Pruning also maintains good air circulation, which in turn helps lower the risk of fungi and rot.

If done at the right time, pruning will jumpstart the growth spurts of old plants and increase the number of blooms you get throughout the growing season.

Last, but not least, pruning contributes to landscape cohesion and helps your plants look more “intentional” and “manicured”.

Quokka--the "happiest" animal on the planet

Quokkas are small wallabies about the size of a cat, known for their constant smiling appearance due to protruding front teeth and the way they stick their tongues our to keep cool. These cute creatures make their home in Western Australia but despite their friendly appearance, touching or harming quokkas is forbidden and sometimes dangerous. They are capable of inflicting severe bites and transmitting salmonella. Do not feed a quokka under any circumstance as fines of $150 and further penalties apply.

Other fun facts about the quokka:

Although they primarily walk, they can climb trees and shrubs to find food and escape predators. Like their relatives the kangaroo, quokkas can hop and bound or move forward using their hands.
Quokkas spend the evening and night hours browsing for food and sleep during the day.
They can survive a long time without food and water as quokkas store fat in their chubby tails. They can go months without water.
Quokkas swallow their food whole, then they regurgitate it and eat it again.
Their average life span is 10 years.
Quokkas have an island named after them. A Dutch explorer named Willem de Vlamingh spotted quokkas off the coast of an island in 1696. Mistaking them for rats, he called the island “Rottenest” (rat’s nest).