LAND ARTS OF THE AMERICAN WEST is a studio-based, field study program dedicated to the investigation of land arts from pre-contact Native American to contemporary Euro-American cultures. Land arts practices can include everything from constructing a road, to taking a walk, to building a monument, to leaving a mark in the sand. The program seeks to expand upon connections between typically separate fields. We learn from the fact that Donald Judd surrounded himself with both contemporary sculpture and Navajo rugs; that Chaco Canyon and Roden Crater function as celestial instruments; and that the Very Large Array is a scientific research center with a powerful aesthetic presence on the land. Fourteen students lead by two faculty, spend a semester living and working in the southwestern landscape with guest scholars and artists in disciplines including archeology, art history, architecture, ceramics, criticism, writing, design, and studio art. In LAND ARTS students become cognizant of human interventions in their region across time and cultures. Occupying the land for weeks at a time, living as a nomadic group and working directly in the environment, students navigate issues of culture, site, community and self. They develop skills of perception and analysis unattainable in a standard classroom setting. LAND ARTS is an interdisciplinary model of education for creative engagement with our world.

LAND ARTS is a collaboration between Studio Art at the University of New Mexico and Design at the University of Texas at Austin.

» Land Arts of American West website

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