In the course of history, the once reverent and humble man, subordinated to natural forces has changed his relationship to his natural environment, leading to our current geological age, in which...Show moreIn the course of history, the once reverent and humble man, subordinated to natural forces has changed his relationship to his natural environment, leading to our current geological age, in which human activity is the dominant force on climate, earth’s geology and ecosystems. The depiction of man’s relationship to nature has been expressed in countless representations of landscapes within the discipline of the arts, nevertheless, the Land Art movement, which originated around the 1960s in the US took this artistic approach to the theme of the landscape on a whole new level, by incorporating their vision into already existing, physical landscapes. American artist Alan Sonfist was one of the first artists to engage with those human-centred changes in our behaviour with nature, by producing Time Landscape in the city of New York. The project had been proposed to the municipality of New York City already in the year 1965, however, it took almost thirteen years to realise due to difficult negotiations. Time Landscape, a project which still exists in downtown Manhattan today and recently turned fifty years old, is an attempt to recreate a pre-colonial forest that once existed on the same site before man’s interference into the natural landscape. Serving on the one hand as a memorial to extinct species of plants, vanished due to urbanisation, and on the other hand as a visual inspiration for renewing the city’s natural environment, it is an artwork that reflects ecological concerns towards the well-being of the planet, which has been endangered by a changing relationship between man and nature.Show less
