Listen to part of a lecture in an Art History class.(male professor) Now, we had concluded last class with the discussion of conceptualism and how would it gain the foothold in the art community in the late 1960s.At its core was the belief that the artist’s idea, the idea itself, on its own, was more important than the final product.Conceptualism rebelled against the commercialization of art and the control held by the art galleries and museums.And something new called the Earth Art movement developed directly out of that mindset.Let’s take a look at an Earth Art sculpture from 1970 called Spiral Jetty.(female student) Wow, looks large enough to drive a car onto its surface.(professor) Well, Earth Art artists used the large size of their sculptures as a means of making an ideological statement against commercialism and against art galleries that they believed had too much control over art.Obviously something like Spiral Jetty couldn’t be contained within a gallery.(female student) It doesn’t seem like a lot of people would have been able to get out there to view it. It looks pretty desolate and remote.(professor) Right, remote locations were purposely chosen to distinguish casual museum goers from those individuals willing to make a conscious investment to participate in the art experience.Now, Earth artist’s viewed as a smaller branch of conceptualism, since Earth Art focuses exclusively on using only nature as both its material and stage for expression.If we look at Spiral Jetty, art is not simply placed on a site, the site itself, the rocks and dirt actually becomes the art.(male student) Well, considering those materials, rocks and dirt, how well has Spiral Jetty stood up over, what is it, over forty years?I mean, is that how it looks today?(professor) That’s a very early picture of the sculpture.Over the years, the water levels have risen to completely submerge the sculpture for years at a time.And there have also been periods when drought has pulled water back, hundreds of meters from Spiral Jetty’s center.However, the black basalt rocks have retained their form and it held up incredibly well.What I find interesting, however, is the impact that humans not nature might very well have on this Earth Art.(male student) What do you mean? (professor) Well, in recent years, there had been proposals to initiate drilling for oil.The oil rigs would be a few miles away but still clearly visible when looking at the sculpture.There’s a lot of public protest about the fact that this might negatively impact the esthetic experience for visitors.You know, I think it’s ironic that the artist’s focus on nature might be intruded upon by the forces of industry.In fact, seems to me it’d actually make quite an interesting artistic statement in contrast to have the oil rigs visible.Anyway, Spiral Jetty, as it stands, is a completed work. And you’ll be reading up on other Earth Art in this week’s assignment.Keep in mind that some Earth Art projects were so large that they never went beyond the conceptual planning stages, so things like sketches, miniature models or construction permits are all that are available.Ironically, these documents often become the basis for museum exhibitsBut, again, remember that the conceptual planning by itself constituted artistic expression in the eyes of Earth artist, even the artist who created Spiral Jetty was heavily invested in the documentation of the process.So, Spiral Jetty exists in multiple media, through the artist’s drawings, essays, and a documentary film.(female student) Um, so did they use their art to promote environmental activism?(professor) Interestingly enough, while Earth Art brings a focus to and an appreciation for our natural surroundings, the process its artist used in creating its pieces has been criticized.In Spiral Jetty, for example, sixty five hundred tons of black basalt rock, limestone, and earth were moved in the process of its creation.Critics argued that yes, this genre of art incorporates the features of the site’s natural conditions, but it ends up altering those conditions.It’s an interesting philosophical question for you to consider when reviewing each sculpture tonight.Would the process the Earth Art artist used to create each piece be condemned if the end product was not viewed as art?