The Groundswell: Women of Land Art exhibition highlights female artists through displays of land art. These displays ranged from intricate stone sculptures to complex wooden structures. "['Female artists'] approach to the land art in a number of cases really differ substantially from that of their male peers," director of Nasher, Jeremy Strick said. Photo Courtesy of Nasher Sculpture Center.
By O.S. Keijsers Koning
Wooden mazes protruding from the ground, stone pathways snaking through the water.
Carved directly into the landscape, land art uses natural and manmade materials to create sculptures and monuments, marking the environment permanently or temporarily.
“Land art can be media, it can be photographs, it can be film, it can be more exciting temporarily in urban settings.” Dr. Leigh Arnold, Nasher associate curator, said. “It can be works that address systems that support our lives rather than just these aesthetic gestures done on the landscape.”
The Nasher Sculpture Center is reintroducing land art through the exhibition Groundswell: Women of Land Art. This exhibition that runs until Jan. 7 shines the spotlight on a female outlook of land art.
“The art world is already a heavily misogynistic place, a place where gender has a great impact on whether or not an artist will succeed and whether or not an artist has access to materials, to funding, to training.” Arnold said. “Land art has all of those kinds of gender dynamics that are already present within the art world. It really was even more so described as a very macho male dominated art form.”
Although land art has been regarded as a male dominated field, Arnold ensures that the exhibition places emphasis on the collaboration of American-born female artists, showcasing their insight and their thoughts.
“Land art has all kinds of gender dynamics that are already present within the art world. It really was even more so described as a very macho male dominated art form.
One of the artists participating in this exhibition is Patricia Johanson. Previously, Johanson redesigned and restored the Fair Park lagoon, emphasizing the importance of a community space that brings adults and children together.
“Somebody referred to it as a spaghetti explosion, and I think that's so charming. That's the way I think of it too.” Johanson said. “But basically the reason for all of that art nouveau twisting and turning is I wanted to get those [community] spaces in between the paths.”
Johanson is grateful to be part of Groundswell: Women of Land Art. With her participation in the exhibition, she feels that she has the opportunity to grow and expand in her art by creating more interactive pieces.
“I also want to offer choices because everybody is different and what appeals to one person may not appeal to somebody else,” Johanson said. “So if you put a lot of different elements into your projects, usually somebody can find something they're interested in and you're still preserving the public space.”
One of the nonprofit groups that help encourage female artists and their exhibitions is Vignette. Erika Jaeggli, the organization’s programming chair, explains how Vignette helps female artists.
“[Vignette is] an organization that is really just focused on female and female-identifying artists in our area because as you may or may not know, there's still a really large discrepancy in terms of gender in the art world, although it is definitely getting better,” Jaeggli said.
Vignette’s current program is a tour of the Nasher exhibition. This ongoing effort aims to amplify feminist and female artists.
“Groundswell: Women of Land Art really shows that at the same time that these men were making these land art pieces, women were too and still are,” Jaeggli said. “So it's just shining a light on the disparities in representation.”
"We're building something that is unique and distinctive.”
Jeremy Strick, the director of Nasher, wants to ensure that the exhibition showcases the unique traits that female artists incorporate into their land art.
“The idea of Groundswell is [that it] really radically challenged that [male-dominated] characterization by pointing to the large number of women participants in the movement,” Strick said. “['Female artists'] approach to the land art in a number of cases really differ substantially from that of their male peers.”
In addition to the land art exhibition, Nasher showcases multiple different inclusive exhibitions to represent different communities.
“You build the art community by engaging with it in various ways,” Strick said. “It's a matter of offering opportunities for communication, inviting people to participate in what you do, and showing an interest in what they do. I think Nasher is such a beautiful, remarkable place with so much potential.”
Although Strick is retiring from being director, he wants to remain an active member of the art community. After leaving his position, he will continue to have pride in Nasher’s accomplishments.
“People often tell me that when they bring visitors to Dallas, one of the first places, if not the first place they’ll take them is the Nasher because it stands for a kind of excellence.” Strick said. “We're building something that is unique and distinctive.”