Art 308, Studio Sculpture

Molly Burtenshaw

Project 3- Site / Place
ANALYSIS

In the same vein as issues presented by process and interaction-oriented work, it is hard to define what makes a work site-oriented. Every single object is related to and affected by the space it is placed in. The question lies in if pieces of art are dependant upon their location, and if the artist purposefully chose the surroundings in order to change the meaning of their work. The ultimate realization of this ideal is in putting the location of the art above the art itself. Robert Smithson did this through taking the artwork of nature and was concerned only with enhancing it through natural materials. Gordon Matta-Clark also utilized already existing art, in the form of man-made structures and architecture, and instead of adding anything took away portions to make new locations through the use of negative space.

One major issue with defining what the art or the work of site-oriented projects is revolves around the entropy of the environment on the art. Many artists create their pieces in areas they know will destroy the works over time, as a part of the metaphorical nature of their vision. Yet, what part of the art is the real art? Is it the newly built work or the same thing after a period of time and decay? Often, the only way to truly experience a work in the artist’s original intention is to view the photographs, drawings, and models of the original site. Thus, the artwork could be the actual altered place, but the more accurate representation of it could just be the records of it. History and the changes of time are impossible to separate from site-oriented work because everything that has ever happened to a place is still present and felt when an artist comes into the picture, so intentionally or not it will all be part of the nature of the artwork.