VAST HORIZONS: shared raisins

VAST HORIZONS: shared raisins

Since 2011, the ANU School of Art Environment Studio’s Field Studies
program has connected to a network of practice led research programs in the
American South West. VAST HORIZONS shared raisins features work made in
the context of the Land Arts of the American West program, University of
New Mexico (UNM), Albuquerque, following several visiting artist exchanges.
Contributing artists are Bill Gilbert & Jeanette Hart-Mann (UNM);
Yoshimi Hayashi (Mira Costa College, CA); Roberto Salas (Buena Vista, TX);
John Reid, Marzena Wasikowska, Amelia Zaraftis & Heike Qualitz (ANU).

17 - 28 April 2013
Opening | 6pm Thursday 18th April
ANU School of Art Foyer Gallery

Fringe Forum | 1-2pm Thursday 18th April
School of Art lecture theatre

ANU SCHOOL OF ART FOYER GALLERY
ELLERY CRESCENT, ACTON, ACT 0200
GALLERY HOURS
tuesday – friday | 10.30am – 5pm
saturday | noon – 5pm
closed sundays & public holidays

[t] (02) 6125 5841
[e] sofagallery@anu.edu.au
[w] www.anu.edu.au/art

shared raisins
Image: Heike Qualitz
saline sanctuary, 2013
inkjet on rag, 24” x 36”
(with Amelia Zaraftis)

Reflections on Journey One

Heike Qualitz

The former Tipover canyon campsite, now waterfront hunter's lodge

Firepoint
     An unexpected lush expanse of forest welcomed us after hours of winding through arid landscapes.  Fungi in all shapes and colors covered the spongy forest floor beneath the Ponderosa and Aspen regrowth, apparently not an everyday sight.  Their vibrant presence reminded me of the vital role the largely unnoticed underground networks of mycelia play in a forest ecosystem.

     The stark white stems of the twisted aspen trees posed as an inviting setting to honor aspects of those complex mycelium networks.  Aided with various pieces of string that fellow land artists kindly shared with me, I went to play.

Webbing in progress (photographs by Eso Robinson)

Night photograph of string in pines

     There is anecdotal evidence of saunas being constructed during land arts journeys.  Outdoor settings such as the Kaibab forest combined with extensive periods of limited access to water (ok, throw in some northern European heritage as well) are somewhat conducive to be inspired to create such spaces.  Fueled perhaps also by having just witnessed an extreme of environmental landscaping and immersive environments - Roden Crater, I woke up one morning somewhat driven.  
     I started transforming the space created by a fallen Ponderosa, right next to our campsite, using the naturally formed hollow that was left by the uprooted majestic pine.  Later in the process, fellow campers joined me to refine the space.  We used mostly materials provided by the fallen tree; branches for support, needles for cushioning the seating, and timber for the fire.  Despite the process being highly enjoyable, the lack of material accessible for covering the cavernous structure sufficiently eventuated in the space being a 'warm cave' (as opposed to a sauna), an immersive experience most of the group shared nonetheless.

Ponderosa sweat lodge

     Upon more pondering the wonders of the Ponderosa pine, I decided to use the fallen bunches of needles, which after being exposed to the sunlight darkened to a reddish shade, their underside remaining pale.  I wanted to use those varying shades to create a drawing with the intricate shape and geometry of a pinecone, which presented itself as an obvious choice and challenge.

Pine needle drawings (day and night scan)

Jenn Hart-Mann with skull: found and returned

Wendover

After a rare desert rain at CLUI

Horseshoes flying in the Wendover evening sun (with Bill Gilbert and Amelia Zaraftis)

Playing with and recording the aeolian harps attached to the
CLUI tower with Celia McKinnon (photograph by Amelia Zaraftis)

Working on the Bonneville Salt Flats

Leaving Wendover

Colorado River above Lake Powell

Muley Point - breathtaking sunset after a rainy day

Muley Point - Army Juno missile launched from 
Fort Wingate, New Mexico, visible in the morning sky

Landmarks of Art, MiraCosta College, California

Heike Qualitz and Amelia Zaraftis
September 22nd and 23rd, 2012
(Photographs by Heike Qualitz, Amelia Zaraftis, and Yoshimi Hayashi)

      During the break between the first and second Land Arts trips, we travelled to California at the invitation of Professor Yoshimi Hayashi of MiraCosta College in California.  Hayashi, himself a graduate of the Land Arts program, convenes a similar Landmarks of Art program, which takes students on three field research trips each year, the first of which is to Los Angeles.  An invitation was extended to us to join this year's trip to Los Angeles over the weekend of September 22nd and 23rd.

Day 1
     First stop was a visit to the Centre for Land Use Interpretation (CLUI) in LA where we viewed the current exhibition and browsed the bookshop.  A few doors down the street we entered the Museum of Jurassic Technology for a very enjoyable, unusual experience, including the taking of tea and a look around the gorgeous rooftop garden.

Hayashi briefing students about CLUI prior to entering the building

The group enjoyed tea in the rooftop garden at the Museum of Jurassic Technology

Traveling by train in LA enabled a shared social experience

Students utilized travel times between museum and gallery venues

Student work in progress, streets of LA

Landmarks of Art group photo amongst Chris Burden's Urban Light at LACMA

      During the afternoon, we visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), where one could easily spend a whole weekend.  In a mere few hours, we considered works by Ed Ruscha, Richard Serra, and Michael Heizer, to name very few.

Michael Heizer, Levitated Mass at LACMA

Day 2
     Day two started with a visit to Chinatown, where there are a number of contemporary art galleries.  Students worked on their projects, and we both purchased parasols to compliment our outfits and combat the searing sunshine.

Heike Qualitz, Reflection with Parasol

Amelia Zaraftis & Heike Qualitz, Parasol Combat in Chinatown

     After lunch, we went downtown to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) where the Safety Complex outfit made its LA debut.  This was followed by a stroll around the Frank Gehry designed Disney Concert Hall for further immersion and discussion.

Safe immersion in a saturating Rothko experience at MOCA

Students gather on the steps after visiting MOCA

Playing with the reflective surface of the Gehry building

Safety (at the Gehry is) complex

     We digested our big city Land Arts experiences during the long and somewhat bumpy LA freeway drive back to Carlsbad, both very glad of the opportunity to have seen how students engaged and responded to the urban environment as a primary resource for interdisciplinary art research.  The following day, we each presented talks in the sculpture workshop at MiraCosta College, followed by a guided tour of the very impressive Art Department facilities.  We encountered lots of smiling faces, both student's and staff, always a positive sign.

Farewell Landmarks of Art students and MiraCosta College.  We wish we could stay!