troublemakers ( 2015 film )
troublemakers: the story of land art (2015). courtesy troublemakers the film .
troublemakers: the story of land art (film still) (2015), directed by james crump, showing nancy holt’s sun tunnels (1976), 72 min .
on september 29, 2015 at the ace hotel. additional screenings are listed online at
troublemakers: the story of land art (film still) (2015), directed by james crump, showing charles ross during construction of star axis (1976), 72 min .
troublemakers: the story of land art (film still) (2015), directed by james crump, showing construction of nancy holt’s sun tunnels (1973 - 1976), 72 min .
troublemakers: the story of land art (film still) (2015), directed by james crump, showing robert smithson and nancy holt, new york (c. 1970), 72 min .
troublemakers: the story of land art (film still) (2015), directed by james crump, showing michael heizer’s circular surface planar displacement drawing el mirage dry lake, (1969), 72 min .
i' m immediately drawn to any film with the title of troublemakers and this one does not let go .
was a selection of the 2007 nyff) is a documentary essay about the possibilities of political engagement in 2015 .
nancy holt’s ‘sun tunnels, 1976. ’ from ‘troublemakers: the story of land art, ’ a film by james crump .
troublemakers: the story of land art (film still) (2015), directed by james crump, showing carl andre and robert smithson arm wrestling at virginia dwan’s dakota apartment, new york (c. 1968). photo: virginia dwan .
troublemakers explores early land art movement works, like robert smithson’s “spiral jetty. ”
james crump ’s latest film, troublemakers: the story of land art, focuses on the lives and works of michael heizer, walter de maria, and robert smithson between 1968 and 1973. here, the filmmaker and art historian talks about the process of making the film. the documentary premieres in los angeles at the theatre at ace hotel (copresented with la moca) on september 29, 2015, and will then play the new york film festival on october 1 and 4, 2015 .
crump made his directorial debut at the 2007 tribeca film festival with “black white + gray, ” featuring the influential and legendary curator and collector sam wagstaff and artist robert mapplethorpe. crump’s second film, “troublemakers: the story of land art” premiered at the 2015 new york film festival and in europe at fondazione prada, milan, italy. the wall street journal said, “troublemakers takes its place among the great art documentaries of the past half - century. ”
1. troublemakers: the story of land art (2015) the film unearths the history of the origin of land art during the 1960s and 1970s. troublemakers follows the story of the renegade artists who risked their careers to radically change the perception of what could be classified as art, which is the polar opposite of the speculative, money - driven contemporary art world of today .
charles ross constructing ‘star axis, ’ near las vegas, new mexico, 1976. from ‘troublemakers: the story of land art, ’ a film by james crump .
robert smithson’s 1970 work “spiral jetty, ” in the documentary, “troublemakers: the story of land art. ”
as the film makes clear, in making works that can never be possessed as an object in a gallery, these “troublemakers” stand in marked contrast to the hyper - speculative contemporary art world of today .
troublemakers: the story of land art, a film written and directed by james crump, will be presented to the public at fondazione prada cinema on sunday 11 and monday 12 october 2015 (at noon and 6 pm). free entrance. booking required. the screening scheduled for sunday 11 october at 6 pm will be followed by a panel discussion between the director james crump and germano celant .
michael heizer’s ‘circular surface, planar displacement drawing, el mirage lake, 1969. ” photograph by gianfranco gorgoni, from the documentary ‘troublemakers: the story of land art, ’ a film by james crump .
set in the desolate desert spaces of the american southwest, the film unearths the history of land art during the tumultuous late 1960s and early 1970s. troublemakers is ultimately a story... see full summary »
2. art bastard (2015) mentored and inspired by the legendary caricaturist george grosz, the provocative figurative painter robert cenedella would smear new york street scenes in the same grotesque way that grosz saw berlin. the film shows the frustrations and tribulations of a persistent artist forgotten by a mainstream audience .
urated by caryn coleman, senior film programmer at nitehawk cinema, and presented with frieze .
the film uses original footage produced with helicopters and rare remastered vintage footage from the period .
pronounced the film one of the “great art documentaries of the past half - century. ”
in a prepared statement, the film is described by director james crump this way: “troublemakers unearths the history of land art in the tumultuous late 1960s and early 1970s. the film features a cadre of renegade new york artists who sought to transcend the limitations of painting and sculpture by producing earthworks on a monumental scale in the desolate desert spaces of the american [ southwest ]. ”
the films were chosen by a selection committee, chaired by jones, that also includes dennis lim, film society of lincoln center director of programming; marian masone, fslc senior programming advisor; gavin smith, editor - in - chief, film comment; and amy taubin, contributing editor, film comment and sight & sound .
the film shows him as incredibly dynamic, yet very still and quiet in the face of his massive works .
“troublemakers: the story of land art” will be shown at 7 p. m. at the taos community auditorium, 145 paseo del pueblo norte, as a fundraiser for taos fall arts festival, the taos environmental film festival and the paseo — three art events happening simultaneously in september. a post - screening round table will discuss the legacy of those “troublemakers” in new mexico today: its art community, landscape and the environment, a press release states .
and this thursday, troublemakers has its official premiere at the 53rd new york film festival, where it also screens on sunday. the film has a number of other museum - related domestic screenings lined up, including dec. 10 at 21c museum hotel here, with crump present, before going into theatrical release on jan. 8. first run features, a distributor specializing in documentary, independent and foreign features, is opening it at new york’s ifc film center. internationally, it screens at milan’s fondazione prada on oct. 10 .
troublemakers (72’, 2015) retraces the origins of land art between the late 1960’s and the beginning of the 1970’s, documenting the creative research of artists such as walter de maria, michael heizer and robert smithson, who transcended the limitations of traditional painting and sculpture in order to intervene on lakes and deserts, mountains and plains and the vast landscapes of the american southwest. their earthworks, monumental installations and large - scale interventions, altered the natural surroundings around them by repositioning tons of soil and rocks or by inserting metallic elements in large areas of land .
i had been thinking about this film for more than ten years, but the actual production took only thirteen months. the title comes from a comment germano celant made about the land artists: “they were troublemakers, confusing the marketing. in fact, they didn’t have any market. not only because they were difficult, but also because people were not able to grasp them. ”
michel comte is a swiss - born filmmaker and one of the most sought - after fashion and magazine photographers in the world. comte’s latest film is the girl from nagasaki which premiered at the 2014 sundance film festival and is set to release in 2015 which marks the seventieth anniversary of the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki. for vanity fair and vogue, comte has portrayed numerous celebrities from the world of art, film and entertainment, from julian schnabel, jeremy irons and demi moore to mike tyson and michael schumacher. comte’s advertising clients include brands such as armani, dolce & gabbana, nike, lancôme, revlon, ferrari, jaguar and mercedes benz. on photo assignments for the international red cross as well as his own michel comte water foundation he has traveled to war zones and unstable areas in iraq, afghanistan, bosnia, sudan and cambodia .
our hidden futures
is the overall theme for this year' s ab / mb film program. over 50 films and videos will be screened on the giant projection wall outside of the new world center (500 17th street, south beach), plus over 80 more can be accessed in the convention center film library. the colony theater (1040 lincoln road, miami beach) will be showing director james crump' s
troublemakers: the story of land art
on friday, december 4, 8: 30 p. m. , followed by a panel discussion with crump and basel film curator marian masone. the evening screenings in soundscape park include short films with program themes ranging from
speak easy
to
vanishing point .
curiously, heizer agreed to be interviewed for crump’s earlier film because the late wagstaff, when he was the contemporary art curator at detroit institute of arts, commissioned heizer in 1971 to create an earthwork by bulldozing the museum’s lawn. it caused an uproar. but heizer wouldn’t participate in troublemakers, as he’s working on his newest piece of land art, “city, ” in nevada. (de maria and smithson are deceased. )
set in the desolate desert spaces of the american southwest, the film unearths the history of land art during the tumultuous late 1960s and early 1970s. troublemakers is ultimately a story of renegades and firebrands all willing to risk their future careers on radical change and experimentation - a marked contrast to the hyper - speculative contemporary art world of today. featuring rare interviews with a veritable who' s who of american art of the twentieth century .
a preview of new work from citizenfour oscar - winner laura poitras, the latest feature from master documentarian frederick wiseman and a film about the late nora ephron directed by her son jacob bernstein are among the 12 titles selected to screen in the spotlight on documentary section at the 53rd new york film festival, which runs from sept. 25 to oct. 11 .
crump believes his film could inspire today’s younger artists struggling to find meaning for their work in a capitalism - on - steroids contemporary - art market for easily collectible paintings and sculpture .
nonetheless, one of troublemakers ’ strongest elements is the photography of heizer’s “double negative, ” which now is owned by moca. in february 2014, crump did a two - day shoot — from air and on land — of the site, and the results are engrossing .
as well as it does its job, the movie’s tone suggests a pbs program. so, too, does its brevity: the film clocks in at a leave - them - wanting - more hour and 12 minutes. some potential viewers may take this as a cue to wait for “troublemakers” to turn up on television, but that would be a mistake. the film’s generous views of spectacular works like smithson’s monumental “ spiral jetty ” (the work projects into the great salt lake in utah) and mr. heizer’s “ double negative ” in nevada (a huge trench bisected by a canyon) are best seen on the largest screen available .
relationships between land art, photography / film, and westward expansion are vaguely established by the documentary, but not pursued beyond suggestion. primary sources and exhibition ephemera are used as rallying points for celebrating the artists’ auras rather than texts to be read within the frame of their specific time and place. the film does send a well - deserved nod to the short - lived
the film by james crump does something that is rare for art documentaries: it is very beautiful and dynamic itself in examining work that is challenging. it meets the subject head - on .
but survival is what the film is testament to. heizer' s levitated mass took heaven and earth and a great deal of time and freeway management to arrive recently in los angeles at lacma .
while troublemakers’ subject concerns some of the most unique and immersive artistic environments yet created, crump, an author and editor of numerous books about artists, keeps his form comparatively pedestrian. only toward the end, during some sweeping aerial views of heizer’s double negative, does the music on the soundtrack get echoey and the mood get contemplative. though one could argue that there’s no point in trying to recreate the experience on film. best to rent a car, head west and see them for yourself .
troublemakers unearths the history of land art in the tumultuous late 1960s and early 1970s. the film features a cadre of renegade new york artists that sought to transcend the limitations of painting and sculpture by producing earthworks on a monumental scale in the american southwest. today these works remain impressive not only for the sheer audacity of their makers but also for their out - sized ambitions to break free from traditional norms. the film casts these artists in a heroic light, which is exactly how they saw themselves. iconoclasts who changed the landscape of art forever, these revolutionary, antagonistic creatives risked their careers on radical artistic change and experimentation, and took on the establishment to produce art on their own terms .
on sept. 29, the new documentary he produced and directed — troublemakers: the story of land art — had its first major public screening at the theatre at the ace hotel in downtown l. a. ; it was sponsored by l. a. ’s museum of contemporary art (moca) .
crump and his executive producer, cincinnati native ronnie sassoon, financed the film through their production company, summitridge pictures, before starting to sell various domestic and international distribution rights. they are also a couple .
with the rebels who created the works that defined it. it is important to me that a new generation of much younger artists rediscover these troublemakers in order to fully realize that making art is not simply for the market and that celebrity or net worth are a rather inadequate justification for a career in the visual arts .
crump and the film’s producer, ronnie sassoon, will make a live appearance at the tucson screening and do a q & a afterward. a reception follows with hors d’oeuvre and a cash bar. the film, being shown in limited release, screens only once in tucson, at 7 p. m. on saturday, nov. 28. the $ 12 tickets include the movie, panel discussion and reception. purchase online via
the film opens in los angeles friday february 5th and can be seen in other cities in the next month. director james crump will be doing a q and a following the 7: 20 screening at the laemmle monica .
other titles that have been selected include the world premiere of james solomon ’s the witness, a reconsideration of the fatal stabbing of kitty genovese in queens, new york in 1964, and james crump ’s troublemakers: the story of land art, which tells of the ‘60s and ‘70s artists who made art out of the landscapes of the american southwest .
the film comes at a time when the notion of preservation of federal lands is under siege. the film provides a counterpoint to preservation, as the works do change the landscape and though art lovers are thrilled, i' m not sure that the guys who took a federal preserve hostage in oregon last month would see these artist' s work as any more important than their cattle and perhaps as pesky as the coyotes and foxes they' re keen to annihilate .
mr. crump does a terrific job of detailing the aesthetic and intellectual motivations of this loose movement: concern for the environment, continuation of the “what is art? ” inquiries of earlier 20th - century forms and disillusionment with galleries and with the art scene in general. this film provides short but satisfying sketches of intriguing individuals like the artists robert smithson, walter de maria, michael heizer, charles ross, nancy holt and the arts patron virginia dwan. the relative isolation in which these artists worked makes them seem more maverick iconoclasts than actual “troublemakers, ” but it’s not my title to choose .
contrary to the photography of land art in books and magazines, (and some indications in the film) most of those artworks are very much meant to be experienced from the ground, and i always prefer seeing them from the ground .
two of the artworks produced by the 1970s rebel land art movement are in new mexico. a new documentary film that describes the international art movement and the artists of that era is scheduled to screen thursday (may 5) in taos .
according to an online synopsis, the film “unearths the history of land art in the tumultuous late 1960s and early 1970s. the film features a cadre of renegade new york artists that sought to transcend the limitations of painting and sculpture by producing earthworks on a monumental scale in the desolate desert spaces of the american [ southwest ]. today these works remain impressive not only for the sheer audacity of their makers but also for their out - sized ambitions to break free from traditional norms .
“the film casts these artists in a heroic light, which is exactly how they saw themselves. iconoclasts who changed the landscape of art forever, these revolutionary, antagonistic creatives risked their careers on radical artistic change and experimentation, and took on the establishment to produce art on their own terms. the film includes rare footage and interviews which unveil the enigmatic lives and careers of storied artists robert smithson (’spiral jetty’), walter de maria (’the lightning field’) and michael heizer (’double negative’). ”
“earthworks are an older tradition than oil painting, going back 3, 000 years, ” the artist carl andre observes late in “ troublemakers: the story of land art, ” a cogent, brisk, sometimes thrilling documentary written and directed by james crump. more than a couple of shots of stonehenge turn up as supporting evidence for that claim. mr. crump’s film, though, is mostly concerned with a group of american artists who, in the early 1960s, began not just working with natural materials for their pieces but also went out into the open, sometimes arid, spaces in north america to mold or scar, or both, the land itself .
“troublemakers” points out that “land art was rife with contradiction and conflict, a site where architecture, landscape, sculpture, technology, archaeology and photography would all converge. against the backdrop of the vietnam war, cold war anxieties and other political uncertainties of the nuclear age, land artists often subscribed to a dystopian view of the future that questioned the military - industrial complex, consumerism and the banalities of modern life and culture .
troublemakers points out that land art was rife with contradiction and conflict, a site where architecture, landscape, sculpture, technology, archaeology and photography would all converge. against the backdrop of the vietnam war, cold war anxieties and other political uncertainties of the nuclear age, land artists often subscribed to a dystopian view of the future that questioned the military - industrial complex, consumerism and the banalities of modern life and culture .
in the film, crump explores why land art happened when it did — the tumultuous 1960s — as well as why it has continued to fascinate. “the artists were responding to all those issues of the time, ” crump says. “there were the assassinations, the protests, vietnam, space travel .
crump’s new film chronicles the pivotal early years, 1968 - 1973, for land (or earth) art, and looks at how such masterpieces as robert smithson’s “spiral jetty” in utah, walter de maria’s “lightning field” in new mexico and michael heizer’s “double negative” in nevada, among others, were conceived and created .
wiseman is returning to nyff with his 40th film, in jackson heights, a study of the new york city neighborhood. joaquim pinto, another repeat visitor to nyff, will present fish tail, co - directed with his husband nuno leonel, about small - scale fisherman in the azorean island of rabo de peixe .
a first - person trip through a moment when artists hoped to demolish the commercial gallery system by bending the earth itself to their will, building their own geological formations and surgically altering those nature made, james crump' s troublemakers finds the personalities that thrust land art (or earth art, or earthworks, take your pick) into the public arena in the late 60s. full of insider interviews but accessible to the casual art fan, the doc should be well received in niche markets after its nyff bow .
5. crumb (1994) occupying the unusual space between underground comics and fine art, r. crumb is one of the most pioneering illustrators in contemporary culture. through interviews with the illustrator’s family, ex - girlfriends and contemporaries, the film examines how the artist’s complexities and talents influences his satirical, sexualized, and often disturbing drawings .
as with all artistic movements, it is hard to know where the boundaries lie and whose work is or isn’t considered land art – but crump’s film focuses primarily on three men: robert smithson, walter de maria and michael heizer. forget dawn of justice – this is the best superhero team - up we’ll see at the cinema this year .
crump, an art historian who also made the 2007 film black white + gray: a portrait of sam wagstaff and robert mapplethorpe, put his access to rare footage and interviews to good use, especially shots of works in progress, creating a fast - paced, engaging film. but the documentary is at its best when it' s setting the scene, explaining how the counter - cultural tide of the late' 60s and the era' s questioning of any and all authority, as well as the nascent birth of the environmental movement, led a cadre of new york artists to buck the establishment and, in a move as much machismo as manifesto, set out west to the desert .
the film, using new and archival footage and interviews, also teaches about some of the patrons and advocates of land art, like gallerist virginia dwan — who funded “double negative” and “spiral jetty” — and willoughby sharp, who curated a 1969 show called earth art at cornell university and co - founded the magazine avalanche, which was supportive of the movement .
farley ziegler most recently produced the bafta - nominated film tim’s vermeer, produced with penn jillette and directed by teller, which followed inventor tim jenison and his pursuit to paint a vermeer. she previously produced with penn the hit comedy documentary, the aristocrats. with producing partner christina ricci, she created and ran blaspheme films, their production company. as a production executive at single cell pictures, she was instrumental in bringing charlie kaufman’s being john malkovich to the screen. she served as story editor and creative executive for director sean penn at clyde is hungry films. she began her career in film as assistant to director david fincher, working with the director at propaganda films on his groundbreaking commercials and music videos .
7. levitated mass (2013) since 2012 renowned land artist michael heizer’s 340 - ton granite boulder has been prominently displayed outside the los angeles county museum of art. the film tells the story of the conception, transport, and installation this highly unusual, controversial, and complex $ 10 million artwork, and shows how it was masterminded from start to finish .
james crump, who directed the 2007 documentary black white + gray which focused on the relationship between curator and collector sam wagstaff and artist robert mapplethorpe, states: “the story needed to be told now, with the express intention of retrieving the spirit of land art, with the rebels who created the works that defined it. it is important to me that a new generation of much younger artists rediscover these troublemakers in order to fully realize that making art is not simply for the market and that celebrity or net worth are a rather inadequate justification for a career in the visual arts. ”
dwan isn’t the only woman to get some screen time. nancy holt, who was married to smithson, develops into an artist of great merit, but her early role was, as weiner eloquently puts it, being an essential part of the stew. as with so many bold art movements, its origins were energetic people hanging out, talking, drinking and trading ideas during a turbulent time. luckily, holt made a name for herself with her piece sun tunnels, but troublemakers touches on the often overlooked point that there are frequently very important people in the artistic process whose name never gets in the museums .
6. herb and dorothy (2008) the incredible true story of herb and dorothy vogel, a postal worker and librarian that lived in a rent - control apartment on new york’s upper east side who built a world - class collection by buying small and medium - sized works by superstar artists before they were famous. the film demonstrates that if the passion is strong enough you don’t have to be rich to collect great art .
3. renoir— revered and reviled (2016) this film tells the story of one of the most influential artists of all time who helped create and embraced impressionism, only to reject it and move into a completely different artistic direction. told through the lens of the barnes collection in philadelphia, which owns more pierre - auguste renoir works than any other institution, the documentary reveals the life and times of pablo picasso ’s favorite artist .
4. painters painting—the new york art scene: 1940 - 70 (1973) the documentary unravels and explains how the creative critical mass in new york between 1940 and 1970 gave birth to the city’s now legendary art scene. focusing on the period between 1940 and 1970, the film shows a collection of interviews with the key players that shaped the scene examining not only the artists but also the museum directors, critics, and gallerists .
10. the jeff koons show (2004) a documentary of the life and work of jeff koons, one of the most significant and divisive artists of our time, is in order. the film traces the artist’s rise and how he became one of the most dominant cultural voices of his generation, told from the perspective of koons himself, along with curators, gallerists and fellow artists including chuck close, julian schnabel and others .
“i felt i wanted to make this film because of the nature of where we are today, where things are so hyper - speculative, ” he says. “it would be real interesting to retrieve the spirit of these (land art) artists and hopefully create something that allows for a younger generation to rediscover them and what drove them. for me, that’s a kind of antidote to some of the things happening in today’s art market. ”
through interviews and photos, crump susses out the appeal of moving boulders and dirt with massive construction machinery. vintage pix show walter de maria posing wittily with the epic lines he inscribed in the ground; present - day footage swoops above and treks into double negative, the trenches heizer dug into a pair of nevada mesas. the latter work gets so much screen time it almost counts, as they say of manhattan in romantic comedies, as a character in the film .
a lot of the principal characters are sadly no longer around. i wanted to focus on artists who were supported by virginia dwan and heiner friedrich. at one point i was interested in going beyond the formative period and telling the story of the construction of michael heizer ’s city, 1972–, but i quickly realized that might be too antagonizing to heizer. if you’re an artist trying to complete a work, the last thing you want is to reveal it prematurely. i chose not to interview so - called experts, as i wanted to make it a film about the people who were present then and doing the heavy lifting—dwan, carl andre, lawrence weiner. i met with friedrich twice but he would never agree to go on camera or to even have a microphone. i would have interviewed willoughby sharp had he been around. dennis oppenheim and nancy holt play a role in the film as well. these three artists who ended up coming across most forcefully were indeed the true titans of this new genre .
life in a turkish old folks home is ostensibly the subject of shevaun mizrahi’s film, but that is only the entry point into this beautifully layered observational documentary. the residents spend their days taking elevator rides to nowhere, and remembering better, more interesting days. one elderly man recounts the parisian sex parties of his youth, while another talks about his glory days as a photographer. meanwhile, just outside the windows of the facility, progress gallops along, fed by the relentless pace and appetite for development .
the film' s images are thrilling and majestic. anyone who has driven through the west (and you must drive - - though the work is also designed to be seen from the air) understands the overwhelming sense of the endless horizon, the scrub, the heat, the canyons, the layers of history. though some claimed this sense of perspective came from duchamp it is hard to travel from his readymades to the scale of the spiral nebulas and giant cuts formed from millennia of rock formations .
my new brush is my caterpillar
said de maria .
some of these sites are overlooked, and that was part of my interest. double negative, near overton, nevada, is an important early heizer work about which a lot will be written and said in the future. la moca owns it and never paid any attention to it until the recent hire of director philippe vergne. i believe that the museum will eventually see it as a kind of satellite, much like how dia views spiral jetty and the lightning field as part of its mission. if the film contributes to this, i will be very pleased .
through rare footage, new aerial views on their most iconic works in california, nevada, new mexico and utah and interviews with artists such as vito acconci, carl andre, walter de maria, michael heizer, nancy holt, dennis oppenheim, charles ross, robert smithson and lawrence weiner, direct witnesses to their artistic efforts such as germano celant, paula cooper, virginia dwan, gianfranco gorgoni, pamela sharp, willoughby sharp and harald szeemann, the film aims to highlight the rebellious, heroic and iconoclastic character of these pioneers who challenged the artistic conventions of their times .
featuring germano celant, walter de maria, michael heizer, dennis oppenheim, robert smithson, nancy holt, vito acconci, virginia dwan, charles ross, paula cooper, willoughby sharp, pamela sharp, lawrence weiner, carl andre, gianfranco gorgoni and harald szeemann. running time 72 minutes. summitridge pictures and rsjc llc present a film by james crump. produced by james crump. executive producer ronnie sassoon. producer farley ziegler. producer michel comte. edited by nick tamburri. cinematography by alex themistocleous and robert o’haire. sound design gary gegan and rick ash. written and directed by james crump .
of course, the gargantuan pieces under discussion in this film aren’t really for museums. (though key exhibitions at dwan’s gallery in new york, an event at cornell university and a later, less successful event in bern are all discussed in great detail .) these are works that are meant to be the next great serpent mound or stonehenge, and when you get to hear devoted critics speak passionately (be it willoughby sharp in archival footage or germano celant today) one is quickly convinced that future generations of pilgrims will indeed head to the american desert like they do to the great churches of europe .
my new brush is a caterpillar .
it' s a suitably brash, bold statement that gels with the theme of director james crump' s documentary on the land art movement, troublemakers. by directing a lens—a wide - angle one—on a movement that sought to remove artwork from galleries and reshape both the landscape and the commercial aspects of the art world, crump doesn' t just bring attention to the personalities and patrons behind these massive non - commercial works. by putting the cultural confluences and anti - establishment fervor in focus, he asks important questions about which, if any, artists are willing to take the kinds of risks that created such massive earthen sculptures. in a post - hirst era of hyper speculation in the art world, who has the patience (and funding) to fashion a spiral of earth in the middle of a lake, like robert smithson, create a massive city in the desert, like michael heizer, or reshape a volcanic crater, like james turrell ?
there’d be no point in not glamorising these renegade artists, but crump does a good job of keeping them human. commentary from living contemporaries (among them, artist lawrence weiner, whose dulcet tones, muppet - esque beard and compassionate attitude make him among the world’s finest interview subjects) remind us that after the flash of inspiration, the 99% of perspiration is more keenly felt with large scale projects like these. there is also no pussyfooting around that most gauche of subject: dough. gallery owner and 3m heiress virginia dwan, interviewed in the film, had her chequebook out during land art’s halcyon days, and that’s how everyone stayed fed. no scotch tape, no spiral jetty .
norway' s munch museum hosts a cocktail reception to announce the inaugural winner of the edward munch art award on friday, december 4, 8 to 10 p. m. , in the shelborne wyndham grand hotel (1801 collins avenue, south beach). rsvp required. the event is co - hosted by the royal norwegian general consulate of new york and the office of contemporary art norway. whitewall & galerie perrotin host a private reception and screening of a new short film by jr called
ellis
on friday, 6 to 8 p. m. , at the eden roc hotel (4525 collins avenue, miami beach). the film was written by eric roth and stars robert de niro. volkswagen 2016 passat hosts a private
design & drive
event on friday at fusse studios (327 ne 59th terrace, miami). gallery 212 (2407 nw 2nd avenue, miami) hosts the launch of
project beauty
on friday, 5 p. m. , with miami artist diana contreras. canadian artist corno opens her first miami exhibition on friday, 7: 30 p. m. , at markowicz fine art gallery (110 ne 40th street, miami). there' s a
chopped
art party at the standard on friday, 9 p. m. to midnight, hosted by the hotel and bruce high quality foundation, alice & olivia and perrier .
she was incredibly attractive and desirable, so i would be surprised if all her artists weren' t in love with her at some time ,
said ronnie sassoon, executive producer of the film and a patron herself .
she was a patron for these artists and unabashedly believed in their mad ideas ,
sassoon continues
and supported them in whatever they were compelled to do .
was she like peggy guggenheim without the histrionics, a patron and collaborator more than a dealer ?
i asked dwan .
no
, she says ,
i was influenced more by leo castelli [ who was so close to his artists and supported their lives as well as their work ] than peggy guggenheim .
the period was also marked by the release of the first image of the entire earth. produced by nasa, such images turned the conceptual space of earth into a two - dimensional sphere; an object on which to conceivably draw, design and create. the most compelling land art sites offered viewers a means to imagine and negotiate the scale of the human body with the enormity of our planet. land artists were exploring a larger canvas to work on while simultaneously seeking to create works that induced awe in the viewer, thus producing a new kind of pilgrimage and a new kind of visceral viewing experience. the film shows how nature performs in these works and alters them over time, sometimes radically reclaiming them, creating an ongoing competitive dialogue between artist and the natural world .
“the period was also marked by the release of the first image of the entire earth. produced by nasa, such images turned the conceptual space of earth into a two - dimensional sphere; an object on which to conceivably draw, design and create. the most compelling land art sites offered viewers a means to imagine and negotiate the scale of the human body with the enormity of our planet. land artists were exploring a larger canvas to work on while simultaneously seeking to create works that induced awe in the viewer, thus producing a new kind of pilgrimage and a new kind of visceral viewing experience. the film shows how nature performs in these works and alters them over time, sometimes radically reclaiming them, creating an ongoing competitive dialogue between artist and the natural world. ”
michael heizer' s circular surface from 1969. photograph by gianfranco gorgoni, 2014 .
robert smithson, nancy holt and carl andre, new jersey, april 1967 .
nearly at a half - century away from some of these works, we need to ask ourselves, is there a new generation that would assume the position taken up by heizer and smithson ,
crump told curbed in an interview .
they had to dig and find the patrons to fund these projects. they had hostility to artistic commerce and the commodification of objects. they had to create a means to do this work themselves .
it' s nearly 50 years since some of these works have been created, and crump feels like it' s time to rediscover and reconsider what these works meant. at a time when you can look up the coordinates of these artworks on your iphone, instead of having to make a desert pilgrimage as was required back in the' 70s, it may be even more important to look at this lost age .
from broadway avenue to wilshire boulevard, a new pbs show examines how street life defines our city life .
a fire island, new york couple teams up with delson or sherman architects and interior designer alexandra angle to fashion their family getaway .
originally designed to hold mountain bikes, the 240 - pound watertight fiberglass box attaches to your hitch and can sleep two .
by signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and european users agree to the data transfer policy .
this article has a component height of 7. the sidebar size is medium .
cities like boston, portland, paris, and london are reclaiming neglected rivers and transforming them into waterfront oases .
the nearly 9, 000 - square - foot residence looks updated to a t, blending original character with a sprinkle of contemporary fixtures .
in manchester, england ,
public furniture
takes on a whole new meaning thanks to the installation of five improbably large lamps in the city’s central plaza .
the new bath comprises a circular diving pool, shallow children’s pool, a 164 - foot lap pool, and two saunas .
you can never follow enough cool accounts on instagram, especially those unexpected gems that show you the designed world in fresh ways .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1. 0 transitional / / en
/ / urltoken
tap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you .
dear virginia: many land sensations and projects already realized. so very positive. i urge you to consider closing of gallery and to consider world wide land operations. walter de maria
in
looking for a larger canvas ,
they rejected the frame, the plinth, even the wall, and sought to create experiences for themselves and for the viewer that would give the word
art
an entirely new dimension .
i hesitate to even say
they
for each forged his / her own unique set of tools to excavate this vision. they hiked and dug and hammered and caterpillared their way to sorting out what they were trying to say, in some cases taking years to be able to interpret their own
connection with dark forces .
they were
hardcore
and some say, macho, yet their angel, virginia dwan, a gallerist turned patron was very beautiful and brilliant and made a great deal of it possible. as one of 18 heirs of 3m, this midwestern woman understood before anyone else, first in la and then in ny, their challenges and was sympathetic to their nascent attempts. dwan says there was
something devilish
in them .
coming at a time in the' 60s when the vietnam war, civil rights and murder of our heroes was the defining ethos, the land artists channeled the darkness of this era. ambitious iconoclasts, they gave short shrift to the drift of contemporary art to commerce. but they were not unlike pollock and de kooning and fontana and burri who tore at the canvas in a different way. destroying in order to create .
they reminded me of david foster wallace in a way, who dug so deep into his darker forces to make his work that he could not survive it .
smithson, known as more social and congenial, made some of his own films, but sadly ended up dying well before his time in a plane crash while surveying sites for a work in texas .
when they weren' t in the desert, the competitive, instinctual, dynamic artists often held court at max' s kansas city. they were seeking the eternal by hard labor, willing to sacrifice themselves on their caverns and pyramids but they liked to hang out also .
i reached out to virginia dwan whose prized collection will open the national gallery' s revamp in the fall. she intrigued me (she needs a documentary of her own) and i asked her what drew her to these artists .
i had already been showing them in the gallery before the exhibition on his mono lake project. i was very excited by their ideas .
virginia dwan certainly wasn' t the most successful art dealer in terms of making money. but she ended up being one of the great art patrons of that moment. she had money and she had faith, like the very best patrons over time. and at that time she supported artists in what they did. those were heady times. so much was new .
dwan also showed chamberlain, lewitt, and many other cutting - edge artists .
many of these artists were my friends ,
adds dwan .
i was very close with lewitt, andre, smithson and heizer. perhaps closest with lewitt and heizer .
( govan adds ,
heizer and de maria had patrons who were equally critical to their work in those same early days, namely robert scull, and heiner freidrich (co - founder of dia) .
these relationships endured well past the gallery years - - to present with those still with us ,
adds dwan' s curator anne kovach .
the archival material that crump has pulled together is excellent (he himself did an interview with heizer in 2003) and a capsule version of each artist and virginia dwan' s participation is compelling .
but aurora tang, a researcher and curator, who did her thesis on the smithson jetty and is now a program manager at the center for land use interpretation said michael heizer' s city' s recent national monument status is an interesting reversal of that... land art becoming federally protected land .
and most have taken great interest and pride in the idea of preserving great american artworks in the land. through efforts over many years, land has been purchased with government and private support to help preserve de maria' s lightning field in new mexico, for example. artists often use their own resources to protect their work - - especially in heizer and turrell' s cases. and president obama, with senator harry reid' s encouragement, has just created a national monument to preserve a big swath of nature and the art of michael heizer' s city project .
govan flies his own small plane to see the earthworks. but, he says ,
the [ great salt ] lake' s water levels have been dropping. the jetty has been above water the past few years. salt lake city based art historian hikmet loe has been informally tracking the lake levels. via usgs you can see precise water levels for that part of the great salt lake. for the last year or so, dia (who has owned the work for years) has been working with two local organizations, the great salt lake institute at westminster college and utah museum of fine art (umfa) to help monitor .
tang visited the sun tunnels, a work by nancy holt, smithson' s wife, also a land artist and friend of dwan' s, in nevada .
we went to the cowboy bar in montello, nv (a very small town, and the closest to sun tunnels). she started chatting with one of the locals who was probably in his 40s, and who told her he remembered her coming to town in the 1970s, and what a big deal it was for him and the town. she was a private, spiritual person, who was 100 percent dedicated to her work and her work with smithson until the very end .
accessing the sites themselves is easier than ever according to tang. umfa (who doesn' t have any sort of official partnership with the holt / smithson foundation) provides driving directions to sun tunnels on their website, and organizes public programming to the site every year or so. these vast projects which combine technology, information and history, nomadism are at the top of my bucket list.
troublemakers : the story of land art is a 2015 american documentary film directed by james crump . troublemakers chronicles the history of land art in the 1960s and 1970s , when a group of radical new york artists began producing earthworks on a monumental scale in the desert spaces of the american southwest . the film follows the enigmatic careers of artists who use the earth itself as their primary medium , including robert smithson ( spiral jetty ) , walter de maria ( the lightning field ) and michael heizer ( double negative ) . 
troublemakers: the story of land art is a 2015 american documentary film directed by james crump. troublemakers chronicles the history of land art in the 1960s and 1970s, when a group of radical new york artists began producing earthworks on a monumental scale in the desert spaces of the american southwest. the film follows the enigmatic careers of artists who use the earth itself as their primary medium, including robert smithson (spiral jetty), walter de maria (the lightning field) and michael heizer (double negative).
troublemakers: the story of land art is a 2015 american documentary film directed by james crump. troublemakers chronicles the history of land art in the 1960s and 1970s, when a group of radical new york artists began producing earthworks on a monumental scale in the desert spaces of the american southwest. the film follows the enigmatic careers of artists who use the earth itself as their primary medium, including robert smithson (spiral jetty), walter de maria (the lightning field) and michael heizer (double negative).