Crop Art and Other Earthworks - Softcover

Herd, Stan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0810925753 ISBN 13: 9780810925755

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994

Synopsis

Explores the vision and works of crop artist Stan Herd, who uses a tractor to create images of soil, wheat, sunflowers, and corn, that when viewed from above, reveal innovative works of art enhanced by the effects of weather and seasons

About this title

From Booklist:

Herd is an unusual artist. His medium is the earth itself; his palette consists of soil, wheat, sunflowers, and corn; his brush is a tractor; and his images can be seen only from an airplane. What makes a man "paint" portraits and still lives on farmland with crops? Herd is as articulate as he is innovative, describing his motivations and inspirations within a broad cultural context. A child of the heartland influenced by the visions of the sixties, Herd recognized the value of life lived close to the land as exemplified by American Indians, first and foremost, and by independent farmers. He was also fascinated by ancient earth designs visible only from the air, such as those found in the Nazca Desert in Peru. The combination of those inspirations induced Herd to create his first earthwork, a portrait of Kiowa chief Satanta worked into a 160-acre Kansas wheat field. As Herd describes his techniques and all the complexities involved in securing land, equipment, and assistance, we can barely take our eyes off the aerial photographs of his immense, living images. These drawings on the Great Plains, transformed by the cycle of the seasons and the vagaries of weather, arouse our awe at the earth's vitality and beauty, and our delight in humankind's ingenuity, artistic drive, and sense of adventure. Donna Seaman

About this edition

• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0810925753
• ISBN 13: 9780810925755
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 64