Larger than life: size, scale and the imaginary in the work of Land Artists Michael Heizer, Walter De Maria and Dennis Oppenheim © Michael Albert Hedger A thesis in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Art History and Art Education UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES | Art & Design August 2014 PLEASE TYPE THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: Hedger First name: Michael Other name/s: Albert Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: Ph.D. School: Art History and Education Faculty: Art & Design Title: Larger than life: size, scale and the imaginary in the work of Land Artists Michael Heizer, Walter De Maria and Dennis Oppenheim Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE) Conventionally understood to be gigantic interventions in remote sites such as the deserts of Utah and Nevada, and packed with characteristics of "romance", "adventure" and "masculinity", Land Art (as this thesis shows) is a far more nuanced phenomenon. Through an examination of the work of three seminal artists: Michael Heizer (b. 1944), Dennis Oppenheim (1938-2011) and Walter De Maria (1935-2013), the thesis argues for an expanded reading of Land Art; one that recognizes the significance of size and scale but which takes a new view of these essential elements. This is achieved first by the introduction of the "imaginary" into the discourse on Land Art through two major literary texts, Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726) and Shelley's sonnet Ozymandias (1818)- works that, in addition to size and scale, negotiate presence and absence, the whimsical and fantastic, longevity and death, in ways that strongly resonate with Heizer, De Maria and especially Oppenheim. As this thesis also demonstrates (and as conventional readings have overlooked), further complicating Land Art is the fact that size and scale are reiterated concerns in works made for galleries, such as De Maria's Earth Rooms (1968-77), and Oppenheim's Two jumps for Dead Dog Creek (1970). as well as works for other urban spaces accessible to the broader public such as Heizer's Levitated Mass (2012), installed in the grounds of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. These questions are also rearticulated in gigantic but unrealized projects including De Maria's Three Continent Project, 1968, and Oppenheim's Swiftian and playful Waiting for the Midnight Special (A thought collision factory for ghost ships), 1979, and in his body I performance works. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known , subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. 1 retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). ~ -~ Witness Date ORIGINALITY STATEMENT 'I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or :i~:~:· ~ isti~¥=owledged ' oate ..... .. ~/'f/(~~. ......... .. .... .......... ...... COPYRIGHT STATEMENT 'I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.' Signed ~!.(~ n Date ...... .... ~/1.t.r. .. .... ..... .................... AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT 'I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.' Signed -~ 1~ . Date •• • •••••••••••• • ~~~~~x• • •• •••• • • on o ABSTRACT Conventionally understood to be gigantic interventions in remote sites such as the deserts of Utah and Nevada, and packed with characteristics of ―romance‖, ―adventure‖ and ―masculinity‖, Land Art (as this thesis shows) is a far more nuanced phenomenon. Through an examination of the work of three seminal artists: Michael Heizer (b. 1944), Dennis Oppenheim (1938-2011) and Walter De Maria (1935-2013), the thesis argues for an expanded reading of Land Art; one that recognises the significance of size and scale but which takes a new view of these essential elements. This is achieved first by the introduction of the ―imaginary‖ into the discourse on Land Art through two major literary texts, Swift‘s Gulliver’s Travels (1726) and Shelley‘s sonnet Ozymandias (1818)—works that, in addition to size and scale, negotiate presence and absence, the whimsical and fantastic, longevity and death, in ways that strongly resonate with Heizer, De Maria and especially Oppenheim. As this thesis also demonstrates (and as conventional readings have overlooked), further complicating Land Art is the fact that size and scale are reiterated concerns in works made for galleries, such as De Maria‘s Earth Rooms (1968-77), and Oppenheim‘s Two jumps for Dead Dog Creek (1970), as well as works for other urban spaces accessible to the broader public such as Heizer's Levitated Mass (2012), installed in the grounds of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. These questions are also rearticulated in gigantic but unrealized projects including De Maria's Three Continent Project, 1968, and Oppenheim‘s Swiftian and playful Waiting for the Midnight Special (A thought collision factory for ghost ships), 1979, and in his body / performance works. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS An undertaking such as a thesis would be impossible without the assistance of advisors and colleagues. My greatest thanks, of course, are due to my supervisor Associate Professor Dr Alan Krell, of the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, Sydney, whose guidance and patience have been exemplary and whose editing, over several months, went far beyond the call of duty. My gratitude is also given to Dr Sheila Christofides for her valuable assistance in editing. Special thanks for their help and time are owed to my great friends at the Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, the extraordinary William L. Fox, Director Center for Art + Environment, who drew the only map of Double Negative that enabled me to locate it, and to archivist and curator Sarah Franz. To the many other colleagues I met in the United States I express my deepest gratitude. For their insight into Land Art I thank Steven Evans of the Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum, San Antonio; John Bowsher, Deputy Director of Museum Planning, and Nancy Meyer, Curator of Contemporary Art at LACMA; Professor Richard Shiff of the University of Texas; Dr Jane McFadden of the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena; and Leigh-Anne Miller from Art in America whom I met at The Lightning Field and who provided me with invaluable research assistance. Thanks are due to the following museum librarians: from Houston, Eric Wolf at the Menil Collection and Joel Pelanne at the Hirsch Library, Museum of Fine Arts; Maria Ketcham at the Detroit Institute of Art; Megan Witko at the Dia Foundation, New York; and to the other unnamed librarians at the Dallas Museum of Art, LACMA, the McNay Museum of Art, San Antonio, the Phoenix Public Library, the Salt Lake City Public Library and at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. I also thank Professor Sascha Grishin from the Australian National University for his advice, Jason Slattery from the Manly Library for finding so many reference texts for me, Marco Migotto for translating the De Maria Italian catalogues and Edward John for his assistance in the presentation of this thesis. Finally, thanks are due to the i University of New South Wales / Art and Design for the two travel grants to enable me to visit the Land Art sites in the United States. Michael Hedger August 2014 ii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this thesis to the three artists whose extraordinary practices inspired it, and especially to Walter De Maria and Dennis Oppenheim who died during the course of my research. iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1. ―Earthworks in the Wild West‖. From Kay Larson, ―New Landscapes in Art: Landscapes—Opinion by Kay Larsen‖, The New York Times Magazine, 13 May 1979, 5.