Outdoors Artwork: Using Nature to Create 3D Art
It is widely known that artists have always used nature to draw ideas from, however, in the last couple of years, an unusual style of making art that uses nature and blends with it has emerged. Sculptures in nature are not confined within the four walls of a gallery or exhibition hall but extend to the great outdoors making it possible for the artist to incorporate the picture in the environment. These works of art in question are not so much insertions of art into nature as they are incorporations of art into nature – made, so to say, in tune with nature, her materials, rhythms, and forms. Mines, the land, plants or movements of nature themselves help sculptors create these pieces that not only lived in but exist in space.
Sculpture of Rhythm: Merging with the Cosmic Order
The term Music of the Spheres is a remnant of ancient Greek philosophy and relates to spherical bodies such as stars and planets producing harmony in unison. Although idealistic and metaphysical, this theory inspired many artists that work within nature because they treat nature as being in the sense of order of the universe. This is why sculptors often attempt to follow this ideal when designing their works in nature in a very metaphysical way which is creating art that interacts with the deeper or rather the inner aspect of the environment.
Some artists like Andy Goldsworthy who works with nature, will always realize how touchy this border is between mankind and nature. Such artworks are to a great extent ephemeral as it is hard to preserve them and enjoy all their spectacular splendor, very profound meaning and significance for an undetermined period. This linkage to Music of the Spheres rests on the belief that these objects of clay are not merely ordinary or aesthetic, they resonate with the rhythms and cycles of nature too.
Nature Loves to Hide Her Secrets: New Natural Sculpture Lschools
Each one of us knows that there are these mysteries in nature which many artists try to address in their work. This is where the quote of the philosopher Heraclitus comes in, “Nature is full of mysteries and secrets.” It is this phrase that best describes what such sculptural works are made for – to expose the dormant aesthetics of the surrounding. These supporting materials help the audience to be inspired to observe more into nature, to appreciate the ordinary in the extraordinary. Nature loves to hide her secrets
It is evident that the type of work done by sculptors such as Richard Long and Nils-Udo seeks this conception further by working on more simplistic yet deeper masterpieces. Long transforms these lands into artworks by sketching out the paths he would take and calling these paths walking sculptures. For Nils-Udo, in this case, the installations that are placed outdoors are made of natural materials and contain great detail but are well camouflaged in the environment. Such works force the viewer to search for the art in the context of the landscape, which is akin to how nature has the ability to conceal its beauty in full view.
Plato on Love, sculptured Earth: Beauty Veritas
The concept of Platonic Love can mean an attachment to the beauty which is present in the purest form devoid of lustful inclination towards the body. With regard to the sculptures that exist in nature, the philosophical concept is clearly brought to whatever level one wishes it to interact with nature. The artists will try to make works of art which reflect the shapes that are created in nature which possess such qualities as balancing and harmony.
The exceptional merging of mankind and natural forces can be found in the sculptures of Robert Smithson, in particular Spiral Jetty. The artist appropriated stones and earth materials towards the building of this huge work well within the Salt Lake which is subject to various climatic conditions and water levels. The Platonic Love expressed here is neither romantic, and that is the love of a man towards a woman – it is an intelligible love of what is there – the beauty of nature’s shapes working in unison with mankind’s abilities.
Environmental Art and Sustainability: Nature as a Dynamic Performance
Within sculptures made in nature, the relationship with the environment in terms of sustainability becomes one of the most important features. Unlike the semi-permanent and everlasting bronze or marble sculptures, environmental sculptures would grow, decay or even vanish within time. This temporal quality focuses on the concept of nature’s delicateness and the need to conserve it.
There are artists, as Maya Lin, who created the Wave Field, who are committed to such causes through their art and care about the materials and techniques used. Lin’s Wave Field is an earthen work with waves’ patterns which create depression – a sculpture in the form of waves when looked at does not fail to inspire the realization in humanity that all are one on this earth. So, in a way, through creating and working on earth, Lin etc tries to convey towards the audience that nature must be honored and managed. Their response is through art which is more than just appreciation but acknowledges the object and makes one responsible.
The Aspect of Time in Sculptures in Nature
There is an element of time in the compositions made in nature, as some of the works fall in the category of tactile or spatial volume due to design scaffolds. Location of such compositions and known factors during their existence becomes the major drawback in any analysis and criticism. This element makes the haste towards construction an additional meaning of the work of art as development is a process that can have a beginning, waves peak and can end, even the world has such it’s own processes.
Walter De Maria’s The Lightning Field, for example, is a land art construction that has an evolving experience since it is positioned in relation to the elements. The field consists of hundreds of steel poles fixed into the ground usually in a grid fashion in an isolated area of New Mexico. Electricity passes through them after a lightning strike – such effects are only experienced in action. Such kind of work is a case in point demonstrating natural force as both an artist’s helper and enemy.
The Ethical Concepts of Sculptures in Nature The problem of ethics is becoming more and more acute with the engagement of artists into the environment. Sculptors have to pose the question even whether their actions are people friendly or they are ecologically invasive in the ecosystems they inhabit. Artists are continuously grappling with the ethics of using nature as a canvas without stripping it off its resources for the sake of their art.
This issue is addressed by Patrick Dougherty who creates stickwork sculptures and incorporates the use of native materials into trees only. All his woven sculptures are made of sticks and branches or any natural materials which he believes to be biodegradable and helps the environment since they do not last forever. He is able to do imaginative and outstanding works but is also able to have concern for the environment and so does not create negative impacts with his works.
Conclusion: The Future of Sculptures in Nature.
The practice of sculpture within the environment is still a developing art that echoes the growing respect of people towards nature. As most artists will enhance this art form, it goes without saying, however, where nature is both a subject and medium, more is on the way. Sculptures in nature remind us of the fine line we have to walk as far as concerning nature is concerned, the appreciation of beauty while realizing the precocity of it all and the unpleasantness that such a beauty may cause.
At last, when it comes to sculptures in nature, the return of art lies with those artists who not only know how to make beautiful things but are also ethically correct. With their works, they help us see the world differently, hear the Music of the Spheres, and understand how terribly nature loves to hide tantalizing secrets.