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Rhythms of Life Geoglyphs: The Land Art of Andrew Rogers by Eleanor Heartney

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2008-Eleanor Heartney Essay-ROL

In 1897, painter Paul Gauguin completed the work he considered his masterpiece; titled Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, the painting presents a monumental tableau set in a mythological version of the Tahitian paradise the artist had escaped to from France six years earlier. This work, with its representation of groups of Tahitian women at different stages of life, poses a set of existential questions that continue to resonate today. For Gauguin, the search for answers arose in the context of the wrenching changes brought on by the rise of modernity and his own desire to escape to a simpler, purer world. Today, we are in a time of equally breathtaking change. The engines driving this change are different, involving developments like globalism, the electronic revolution, and the threat of climate change, but the feeling of unrest is similar. And the questions posed by Gauguin’s painting present a template for thinking about humanity’s past and present in the midst of this ever-shifting reality. Using a very different medium, employing a vastly expanded scale, and addressing a very different world, Andrew Rogers’ Rhythms of Life represents a similar effort to explore the meanings and possibilities of human existence. This work consists of a set of twelve monumental earthwork projects inscribed on the landscapes of twelve very different geographical and cultural locations. They offer meldings of geology, mythology, archeology, and spirituality. In their depth and breadth, they reflect the spirit of Gauguin’s questions, each of which points to a particular cluster of issues. Where Do We Come From? brings up history, archeology, religion, and culture, reexamining them in light of the awareness that we exist as part of a continuum. What Are We? deals with our relation to nature, the cosmos, and other humans. Where Are We Going? seeks meaning in the inevitable change shaping our lives. In contemporary parlance, it asks how, in light of technological advance and social upheaval, we can formulate principles of ethics and moral responsibility in the service of a sustainable future. Significantly, these queries are framed in the plural, indicating that the pursuit of meaning is a communal quest rather than a search for individual salvation
or enlightenment.

Rogers’ Rhythms of Life represents a breathtakingly ambitious effort to address these fundamental questions. Rogers notes that the works in his Rhythms of Life series are “metaphors for the eternal cycle of life, growth, and all the attendant emotions that color human existence. They are optimistic symbols of life and regeneration—expressive and suggestive of human striving and introspection.” Spread across the globe and drawing on symbols from the Neolithic era to the present, these twelve Land Art projects embody Rogers’ belief in humanity’s interconnections across time and space. He adds, “It is fascinating that with modern DNA we can all see a common linkage. These symbols provide a context of history for all of us in which we are a link.” Rogers was trained as an economist and turned to art after a successful business career. He initially conceived of himself as a painter, but, deeply moved by the work of Auguste Rodin, soon turned to figurative sculpture. Eventually his bronze sculptures became abstract, expressing the internal spirit of life rather than simply recreating its outer sinews. In 1996, Rogers created the work that would become the linchpin of his subsequent Land Art projects. Titled Rhythms of Life, this bronze sculpture is composed of three elements: a ball, a gently curving geometric line, and an undulating line that intersects it. Together these elements comprise a symbolic expression of the path of life as an interplay between purposeful movements and serendipitous fluctuations. Rogers has returned repeatedly to this composition, siting versions of this sculpture in Jerusalem, California, Istanbul, and Melbourne. The original maquette of the Rhythms of Life sculpture is in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. The series of earthworks, which share the title of the sculpture, began somewhat by chance during a 1998 artist residency at Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa Israel, when Rogers was offered the opportunity to create an art work in the Arava Desert during a visit. His first geoglyph in 1999 was a reconstruction of the Hebrew letters for the words “To Life”—an affirmation of the life principle that runs throughout the entire Rhythms of Life series. In retrospect, Rogers notes that Israel’s Arava Desert served as the ideal starting point for this series, because it is historically regarded as the place of origin for several of the world’s major religions.

As the series has evolved, each site is host to two or more geoglyphs, the archeological term for large drawings inscribed on the ground with stones, earth, gravel, or chalk. Rogers uses local stones to create his geoglyphs, either piling them to create linear walls, or at sites where stones are less plentiful, laying them out individually to create a pattern on the landscape. Each site contains a version of the original Rhythms of Life sculpture, while the other geoglyphs comprise symbols drawn from the collective mythology or history of the local peoples. It should be noted here that their involvement is an essential component of each work. Rogers seeks local involvement in the choice of the symbol, and depends on local workers and managers for the mostly hand-built construction of the geoglyphs. The initiation or completion of each project (and sometimes both) are celebrated with a ritual performance that draws on local traditions. These range from the communal sharing of strong wine and crushed coca in Chile and a communal sacrifice of a llama in Bolivia, to a blow-out celebration involving a brass band, firecrackers, traditional dancing and singing in China. Thus these are emphatically communal enterprises;
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Andrew Rogers Rhythms of Life – A Global Land Art Project by Silvia Langen Prestel

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2016-Silvia Langen Essay – Prestel

Rhythms of Life – The largest land art project in the world

Since the 1980s, more and more spectacular land art projects are being created far away from big cities and for the first time outside of the United States and Europe. Although these art landscapes can normally only be reached with great effort, the synthesis of nature and art obviously fascinates a great many people—artists, visitors, and local residents alike. In the truest sense of the word, working in an open landscape gives artists space to freely think, experiment, and work in new, greater dimensions. They are in a direct and permanent dialogue with the environment, which is itself a work of art whose infinite facets are constantly reinvented in harmony with the time of day and the seasons as well as with the weather. Ideally, art and nature not only enhance each other but ultimately merge to become a new and unique gesamtkunstwerk. The internationally renowned Australian sculptor Andrew Rogers has succeeded in doing this with Rhythms of Life. Since 1999, he has produced fifty-one land art sculptures in sixteen countries, across all seven continents; these stone structures are thematically interrelated. Rhythms of Life is Andrew Rogers’s life work. The largest contemporary project of its kind in the world, Rogers has introduced a new dimension into land art the global work of art.

GEOGLYPHS AS GLOBAL ARTWORK
They are archetypal symbols of civilization in the most extreme topographies be it the Gobi Desert, the South American Altiplano, the African steppe, or the glacial ice of Antarctica where the artist makes a mark in the truest sense of the word: he builds them into the open landscape as geoglyphs, gigantic drawings and structures from local rock. Andrew Rogers goes to the limits of what is possible with respect to their dimensions. His sculptures are deliberately arranged in such large proportions so that they are clearly recognizable on satellite images from space. With Rhythms of Life Andrew Rogers frames his personal artistic answer to the big questions of our society, which is faced with enormous challenges: globalization with the threat of the loss of collective memory and independent cultural identities, with climate change, new technologies, and increasing commercialization.

THE TOPOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT
Like Michael Heizer and Robert Smithson, protagonists of the first generation of land art artists in the 1960s, Rogers consciously anchors art in the landscape in a lasting way. Land art only explains itself in a topographical context. Andrew Rogers also wants to provoke, to challenge viewers to reflect on the past in reference to the present and the future and to act responsibly and oriented toward positive values. He therefore creates highly aesthetic sites that invite one to contemplate. “It is about the importance of the perspective that we are caretakers and have responsibilities to those around us and to those who will follow,” Rogers explains. “We receive the environmental consequences created by our predecessors.  In turn we leave a consequence for our descendants. The present will be reflected in the future. If we have regard for our earth, what should be the criteria we live by?” As an Australian who himself lives in a country in which nature is omnipresent, working with and in nature is a matter of course. Surrounded by the whole gamut of highly diverse………..

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Atlas Obscura

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ATLAS OBSCURA – PLACES

YUCCA MESA, CALIFORNIA

Rhythms of Life

An artist’s vision for connectivity spans seven continents and 16 countries.

Rhythms of Life is a breathtaking Earthworks sculpture installed in 2008 by the world-renowned Australian sculpturist, Andrew Rogers.

The structure can be seen near the intersection of Old Woman Springs Road (SR 247) and Aberdeen just five miles north of Yucca Valley in California.

Rogers, who is a distinguished artist, exhibits his work internationally with his larger Earthworks sculptures found in numerous private and public collections across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the United States, and Australia.

Rhythms of Life—perhaps the work for which Rogers is best known—is part of a larger project that forms a chain of 51 massive stone sculptures around the world. The sculptures are meant to be seen from two vantage points: from the ground—as a series of stone structures—and from above to show off the structure’s larger form.

To-date, the project currently spans seven continents, 16 countries, and has involved over 7,500 people who assist in the construction of the structures. Rhythms of Life is a collaborative endeavor that relies on the local community to both construct the sculpture as well as ideate the symbols to be included in the Earthwork.

Know Before You Go

Follow SR 247 / Old Woman Springs north five miles until you come to Aberdeen. Turn right on Aberdeen and immediately find a spot to turn around, park, and look west towards the hills to see Earthworks. Or turn left onto the dirt Old Aberdeen Road, park, and look up. You’re welcome to get up close to the sculpture, but leave your vehicle in the dirt lot and walk up.

Click here to see the full article: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/rhythms-of-life

Vogue Italia: A Conversation with Andrew Rogers

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Arte, Intervista ad Andrew Rogers

È l’artista dei primati Andew Rogers: il suo “Rhythms of Life” è una costellazione di 51 massicce sculture (dette geoglifi) disseminate nei continenti. Land Art che abbraccia tutto il globo e che si può vedere da un satellite a 770 km sopra di noi. Un progetto che racconta di un gigantismo senza precedenti e che ha coinvolto 7’500 persone in 16 nazioni, dall’esercito cinese ai Masai.

Ho incontrato Rogers durante il suo viaggio europeo – Biennale di Venezia e Art Basel comprese, ovvio – prima che tornasse nella sua Australia.

Come ha scelto le locations per “Rhythms of Life”?
Ognuna è significativa per storia e patrimonio. Molte hanno una topografia di grande interesse: nell’Arava Desert (Israele) il sito si trova a 122 m sotto il livello del mare; il Deserto di Atacama (Cile) è il più arido del pianeta; in Nepal il geoglifo “Knot” (una sorta di labirinto) è stato creato nella gola più profonda al mondo, mentre in Antartide abbiamo utilizzato la morena dei ghiacciai.

In che modo le comunità locali vengono coinvolte?
La maggior parte delle migliaia di persone che hanno partecipato a “Rhythms of Life” non è mai stata coinvolta nel creare arte. Il processo di creazione è essenziale per il progetto. Si lavora fianco a fianco e in intesa con gli altri per qualcosa che inizialmente è solo un concetto astratto, con la consapevolezza che quello che si crea è storia futura. Uomini, donne e gruppi etnici operano insieme. Le sculture sono un regalo alla comunità che ne è orgogliosa e si occupa di mantenerle nel tempo.

Gli Himba della Namibia sono considerati gli ultimi veri nomadi al mondo; adorano i loro antenati con un fuoco sacro che viene sempre tenuto acceso. La scultura “Sacred Fire” è diventata un luogo di celebrazioni.

I suoi geoglifi sono quindi luoghi che accolgono eventi.
Un altro aspetto che contraddistingue “Rhythms of Life” è l’attenzione ai rituali delle comunità coinvolte, alle mitologie e credenze. Spesso i partecipanti – che vivono in luoghi remoti e dal clima estremo – aderiscono a qualche forma di sciamanesimo con rituali che si realizzano prima e dopo la costruzione delle sculture. In Cile abbiamo bevuto un miscuglio di vino e foglie di coca tritate. In Sri Lanka si è tenuta una processione di danze popolari e acrobati con gong e piatti e i sacerdoti hanno bollito il latte per propiziarsi la buona sorte.

Ci parli delle sue sculture “We Are” esposte fino al 26 novembre a Venezia a Palazzo Mora.
Venezia è un centro di civilizzazione e storia antica. Era e continua a essere un luogo d’intersezione. Le sculture riflettono sulla diversità degli individui, ma anche sull’importanza di un dialogo che consideri storia e patrimonio e che le nostre azioni diventeranno storia nel futuro. Come le mie sculture di Land Art, anche “We Are” parla di globalizzazione e umanità condivisa. Entrambi i lavori sono metafora della relazione imprescindibile fra singolo e comunità e spingono i limiti in termine di forma e sfida nella costruzione. Entrambi dovrebbero agire da catalizzatori per la visione di un mondo migliore.

La sua “Unfurling Energy” è presente alla “Expo 2017. Future Energy” ad Astana (Kazakhstan). 
La mia scultura è stata scelta per la sua forma fluida, ispirata in parte all’energia del vento; infatti, considerando le condizioni del clima di Astana, è in grado di resistere al forte vento, alla neve, al ghiaccio e a temperature rigidissime. Una sfida ingegneristica che ha richiesto grande maestria artigianale e attenzione alla qualità del metallo e delle saldature. La produzione è stata attentamente supervisionata da LERA – Leslie E. Robertson Associates, gli stessi ingegneri della ricostruzione del World Trade Centre.
Anche “Unfurling Energy” mette in evidenza il nostro ruolo di custodi, con responsabilità verso chi ci circonda e chi arriverà dopo di noi. Il presente sarà riflesso nel futuro.

Cosa bolle in pentola?
Sto lavorando a progetti per la Turchia e il Perù.
Come dire: un instancabile e visionario globe-trotter dell’arte.
By Amanda Prada

August 7, 2017 12:45 PM
Click here for the full article:
http://www.vogue.it/l-uomo-vogue/news/2017/08/07/arte-intervista-ad-andrew-rogers/

Architectural Digest Land Artist Andrew Rogers…

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Land Artist Andrew Rogers’s Monumental Works Defy Belief

The creative mastermind travels around the world building sculptures that measure over 600 feet across.

TEXT BY JANELLE ZARA   Posted July 13, 2017

At 34 feet tall and weighing in at seven tons, Unfurling Energy, the twisting bronze-and-steel sculpture artist Andrew Rogers unveiled at the energy-themed Expo 2017 that recently opened in Astana, Kazakhstan, is no small feat. Compared to many of his other works, however, it’s absolutely minuscule. For the past 16 years, the Melbourne-based sculptor has traveled to the extremes of all seven continents for his “Rhythms of Life” series: geoglyphs, or monumental works of stone, measuring upward of 650 feet across. Rogers plants his sculptures directly into “topographically interesting places,” he says, which have included the lowest point on Earth and the Great Wall of China’s western terminus in the Gobi Desert. Despite their monumental size, however, his works leave a very small footprint.

“Do you know the phrase ‘Many hands make light work’?” asks Rogers, who takes the adage quite literally. To minimize his impact on the environment, he employs members of local communities (so far 7,500 total) to manually pass each stone from point A to point B. Each of his projects takes the proverbial village—he consults with both local environmental and political authorities and community elders. He targets otherwise unusable land, and ensures that the men and women he employs are paid equally.

“The work only exists for a moment in time, but you have to be responsible,” Rogers says. “It would be arrogant of me to go in and impose my own values.” His Land Art, as well as the sculptures of studio practice, are an homage to the preservation of history, heritage, and most importantly, to the earth.

Rhythms of Life, Antarctica, 2010
Rogers’s work takes him to the far reaches of the globe, including the South Pole.

Sacred, 2008
“I look for sites of history and heritage,” says Rogers. This figure of a horse, installed on the hillside below the 900-year-old Spissky Castle in Slovakia, was made from scraps of travertine marble.

Circles, 2005
On the Altiplano of Bolivia, at an altitude of 14,300 feet, Rogers borrowed the spiritual symbols of the Pachamama people and designed a series of concentric circles spanning 328 feet.
Circles, 2005

The project employed more than 800 locals, and was blessed bu a Pachamama shaman before it began.

Sacred Fire, 2012
In the inhospitable climate of the Namib Desert, Rogers worked with the people of the Himba tribe.

Listen, 2012
“I like the work to create a vista,” says Rogers. In Cappadocia, Turkey, a carved stone
amphitheater serves as the viewing platform for the accompanying 52-foot-tall arch that
frames the landscape.

The Messenger, 2006
In the Gobi Desert, 1,000 soldiers form the Chinese Army assembled this geoglyph depicting a messenger on horseback that measures almost 500,000 square feet.

Andrew Rogers
Despite the sheer size of his land art, the majority of Rogers’s work takes place in the
foundry with a team of metalworkers, one of whom previously worked with the sculptor
Henry Moore. Rogers describes his sculptures as “figurative forms of the same philosophy
as the Land Art: It’s the individuals of society that make our world a place of justice
and compassion.”

http://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/land-artist-andrew-rogers

The Essence of Andrew Rogers: Sculpture

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“To express one’s self is a timeless need – sculpture is a manifestation of this need and therefore relevant and beneficial.”

Andrew Rogers spoke recently at the National Gallery of Victoria about his journey with sculpture and land art and the ways life informs his practice.

Andrew Rogers’ sculptures connect with his audience and cause them to think, to learn, to wonder, to remember. His works delve into the complexities surrounding the human form; its essence and energy.  He wants them to engage with his sculptures, he wants them to touch and feel the smooth polished interior and the hard ribbed exterior. Doing so makes the sculptures become alive.

With no formal arts training, the process of Rogers mastering sculpture has been a prolific journey. This journey has been full of life, stories and memories, which have enriched his forms. He aims to capture the world’s vibrancy and beauty while also allowing for reflection and remembrance.

For Rogers, sculpting is an expression of the heart and not just an application of skill, it’s how he talks to his audience and how he relates to the world.

Anna Henry
08 July 2017

2017-07-08-The Essence of Andrew Rogers

Images:  Weightless 5, 2015, Bronze

About Andrew Rogers: Life and Land

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Working on sculptures and land art is a chance to create unique forms. Sculptures become a part of the society in which they exist. Reflecting on the works of other contemporary sculptors Anish Kapoor, Jeff Koons and Antony Gormley, it can be seen how each artist works in a diverse manner and how they are influenced by the human form and the place it occupies.

Antony Gormley is often connected to works involving the human body; ‘Angel of the North’ and ‘Planets’ are well-known examples. ‘Planets’, a piece which comprised carved boulders, drew strong connections between man and the environment as does Rogers’ work which resonates with this sentiment. Rogers works personally on large scale and in the abstract through his land art. This involves the natural landscape and diverse peoples.

Anish Kapoor’s world of abstract sculpture uses colour, shape, mirrors, geometric patterns and scale. Kapoor’s art, like Rogers’, is spread through multiple cities, allowing the public to interact with his art.

Rogers’ sculpture and land art in public spaces creates a presence which cannot be achieved within the physical constraints of a gallery or museum. Viewers encounter work they may have never intended to. ‘I Am’, Rogers’ major sculpture in the glass atrium of the Canberra International Airport, is encountered daily by thousands of people. Gormleys’ ‘Angel of the North’ is heavily viewed daily due to its location. The sculpture resides on a hill overlooking a motorway in Northeast England and is viewed by thousands of commuters each day.

Contemporary sculptor Jeff Koons also draws comparisons between his sculptures and the human form. Known for his playful, childhood nostalgia inspired pieces; like Rogers, Koons’ sculptures have travelled the world. Koons describes liking things that involve air because, “They are a symbol of us. We’re breathing machines, we’re inflatable.” ‘Balloon Dog’ is described as being eternally optimistic and regardless of its bright, multi-coloured, mirrored exterior, it appears to fit into any surrounding it is placed.

The juxtaposition between art, and the land it is presented on, can create another layer to a piece of art altogether. Many of Rogers’ works draw a connection to the land on which they stand, and often express the idea that we are a part of something bigger. From the ‘We Are’ series, which was unveiled in Venice, Italy, at the beginning of May, to Rogers’ ‘Rhythms of Life’ Land Art project; both are influenced by the interconnection of humanity through space and time. Working with a mix of human forms, land, emotions and philosophies allows a connection between the viewer and sculpture or land art that we are all capable of accessing.

Anna Henry
10 June 2017

2017-06-10-About Andrew Rogers-Life and Land

Rhythms of Life

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Since 1999, Andrew Rogers has produced the world’s most extraordinary contemporary land art undertaking – Rhythms of Life, successfully demonstrating how art and nature can enhance each other. This land art project is of a mega scale, 51 sculptures across 16 countries spanning all seven continents. It has involved more than 7,500 people over 16 years. The culmination being Antarctica as the final link: the seventh continent.

For Rogers, the actuation to create these pieces of art – a chain of stone sculptures, or geoglyphs, – that have taken form across mountains, valleys and plains around the world, started from an idea to denote separation from the ordinary and provide contemplative settings. A particular purpose of the Rhythms of Life land art structures is to establish consecrated space, provide an impetus to show linkages between structures and environment, and to allow for contemplative narrative around the search for heritage.

It is with the consideration that each creation will erode over time leaving traces of both monuments of culture and those who imagined them. Therefore, Rogers works to use only local materials, which are readily available to construct each sculpture, ensuring local flora is undisturbed. Each creation is conceived of with the assistance of local communities including elders, local workers and experts.

Rogers land art project is, “art created by many people for many people”.  His geoglyphs were inspired by one of the earliest forms of land art: the Nazca lines in Peru. Rhythms of Life is a contemporary land art project of a scale and scope unprecedented in modern history.

Eleanor Heartney describes Rogers’ undertaking: “The geographic and historic sweep of the works constructed as part of the Rhythms of Life project is unprecedented in its scale and ambition. Taken together, the geoglyphs have been erected in every kind of climate, and have responded to geographical environments as distinct as Nepal’s Himalayan Mountains, China’s Gobi Desert, the volcanic mountains of Iceland and the harsh Israeli desert.”

The ultimate goal was to form a connected set of drawings on the earth visible from space, to have the first use of satellites to capture a connected set of contemporary sculptures around the earth, and to utilise Earth Observation sensors to acquire high-resolution satellite imagery from altitudes between 500-800kms (310-500 miles) above the Earth’s surface.

Silvia Langen: “Rhythms of Life is Andrew Rogers’ life work. The largest contemporary project of its kind in the world, Rogers has introduced a new dimension into land art – the global work of art.”

Dawn at Gibbs Farm

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The new minimalist forms of Rogers’ Sentinels create a spectacular silhouette as the sunrises over the undulating vista of Gibbs Farm.

Located on Kaipara Harbour on the North Island of New Zealand, Gibbs Farm is one of the most significant sculpture parks in the world.

Established over twenty years ago the Farm includes works by Sol LeWitt, Richard Serra, Anish Kapoor, George Rickey, Bernar Venet and now Andrew Rogers.

Sentinels, 15 metres (50ft) in height, was commissioned by owner Alan Gibbs following his 2013 visit to the Time and Space land art park in Cappadocia, Turkey which was created by Rogers over the four years from 2007 to 2011. Comprising 13 major stone structures or geoglyphs, Time and Space is the largest contemporary land art park in the world and part of Rogers’ unique Rhythms of Life global land art project – a connected series of 51 stone drawings on the earth visible from space.

Sentinels comprises four columns, each weighing 30 tons. Extensive research was  completed before the correct materials and colour were decided upon to achieve the specific finish required. The colour of the columns shifts with the changing light of day.

Rogers is the first Australian artist to receive a commission for Gibbs Farm.

Portal to Another Dimension

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An excerpt from Phoebe Hoban’s essay  about the Rhythms of Life land art project

In a contemporary world where the digital age rules, from pictures made perfect through Photoshop to our all-pervasive social media, how can an artist preserve and communicate his pure sense of wonder? If you are Andrew Rogers, you do it with people, places and stone. Rogers’ passion for finding remote, unspoiled spots on which to build structures that commemorate human history and our ancient, common bond, seems boundless; and his apparently endless energy and curiosity are embodied in his Rhythms of Life project.

Jules Verne’s famous character, Phileas Fogg went around the world in just 80 days. It has taken Rogers a lot longer to circumnavigate the globe. But Rogers has left a lasting memorial to the local culture—and to his own aesthetic philosophy–in each exotic location. (And like the fictional Fogg, he has made excellent use of hot air balloons—not to mention small planes, helicopters, motorized hangliders and satellites–since his work is best seen from above.)

Rogers’ Rhythms of Life, a unique global land-art initiative, began 14 years ago, and now includes 50 large-scale land-art works, built in 13 countries that span 7 continents. In order to create these far-flung installations, the artist has engaged the collaboration of over 6,700 people, from a remote nomadic tribe in Namibia to an army of Chinese soldiers in the Gobi desert. He has employed technology ranging from large earth-moving machines to computer models to cutting-edge GPS systems. But it is the humanistic aspect of his project, linked not just by its artistic intention, but by its participatory nature, that is one of its most distinctive—and profound—features.

A Day on Earth is the most complex and ambitious of the structures. This impressive corridor consists of twelve 9-meter-tall columns, each inscribed with a set of humanistic values (like Commandments) leading up to an imposing 64-foot tall arch that looks like the portal to another dimension. The colonnade of columns is spaced according to the mathematical ratio for the Golden Ratio (1:1.618) famously used in the Parthenon. A second Golden Ratio governs the width and length of the corridor of columns.

———————-

*Phoebe Hoban has written about culture and the arts for a variety of publications, including The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, ARTnews, and The New York Observer, among others.

 Her biography of Lucian Freud, Lucian Freud: Eyes Wide Open, was published simultaneously by Amazon and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in April, 2014. Her biography of Jean-Michel Basquiat: Basquiat, A Quick Killing in Art, (1998) was a national bestseller and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

 

 

Elements, Green River, Utah

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Elements

The second structure commissioned for the 75-acre sculpture park in Green River, Utah, was completed in September 2013.  Titled ‘Elements’ this structure comprises four 10 metre high columns, one topped in 23-carat gold, representing the four elements, Earth, Fire, Water and Wind.

10.0 H x 3.4 W x 0.6 D m (32’ x 11’ x 2’)