The political (in) landscape and post-Occupy art practices
The political (in) landscape and post-Occupy art practices

Summary/Abstract: The article addresses the political aspects of Land Art and examines to what extent contemporary artistic and political climate have created a situation where urban space works as a natural context for political artistic statements that concern the public sphere as a whole. On the example of selected classic Land Art works created in the urban context (by Alan Sonfist, herman de Vries, Andy Goldsworthy, Joseph Beuys, and Agnes Denes), it considers whether political statements made by such works can have a universal relevance, or whether their scope is limited by the traditional reference to environmental issues. This problem is further developed by examination of the change in the way both Land Art and artists’ political involvement is perceived after 9/11 and after Occupy. Analysed examples of artistic practice include a series of exhibition organised by Nato Thomas at North Adams, research by Trevor Paglen, and the work of Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla.

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