Art and Agriculture

I'm going to be deleting my Organic Confidential blog very soon, and there is one post I want to archive here, about art and agriculture. Many artists working with food and agriculture themes use fiber and textile media. Here is the post, written in October, 2007.

I've sought out connections between art and the world of organic food and farming that I was deeply involved in for quite a long time. Where does art meet agriculture? As it turns out, in more and more places:

• For several years, I've been following the wonderful annual Art About Agriculture juried exhibition hosted  by the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University. Here is OSU's description of the project: "Art About Agriculture encourages artists to investigate the visual resources of the science and practice that sustains human life: agriculture. It strives to develop an understanding and appreciation of food and fiber production, especially among people not traditionally acquainted with agriculture. Art About Agriculture was established in 1983 as the first annual arts competition and tour exhibit with an agricultural theme. It recognizes professional and emerging Pacific Northwest artists, creates a growing, dynamic, permanent collection of fine art based on, stimulated by, and portraying agriculture, and presents the permanent collection and tour exhibit to rural and urban audiences." As this exhibition is limited to artists in the West, I'm exploring ideas about creating something like this in other regions. The quality of the work in the OSU exhibition is very high, and the whole project is inspiring. Some of the work is for sale, and some acquired for the University's permanent collection. View the gallery here.

• In the United Kingdom, Littoral is a nonprofit organization focused on the arts and agricultural change. Littoral has a number of ambitious initiatives, including re-imaging the farming community and countryside, audio projects, and a textiles sector exploring not just farming and fashion and the links between the two, but also "smart clothing" for farmers.  From their web site: "Littoral is interested in opening up new critical territory for contemporary art practice in the context of agricultural and rural change, and supports organisations and artists interested in working on arts projects to do with agriculture, farming and other rural issues. Critics Roger Scruton and John Berger have pointed to the crisis in agriculture as evidence of a deeper crisis of culture, involving issues of national identity, cultural diversity, public health, animal welfare and bioethics, and public access to the countryside. Artists have always sought to work at the critical edges of culture in the unfixed margins of society, as a suitable place from which to re-image society, environment and culture. Agricultural change and the crisis in farming are important new areas for cultural practice and research, and provide a focus for future cultural debate, critical art practice, and aesthetic discourse."

• The ephemeral constructions of environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy are extraordinary, with a profound spiritual quality; it turns out he grew up on a farm. In this Time magazine interview from earlier this year, Goldsworthy is asked how farming informs his work; his reply, in part: "I was always going to be an artist, since I was a kid, but the impact that farming had was tremendous. It's a very sculptural activity. Not just dry stone walls but stacking bales — big minimalist sculptures, beautiful and enormous. Plowing a field is drawing lines on the land, painting the fields — it's incredibly visual." Goldsworthy is the subject of the well-received documentary Rivers & Tides.

Comments

[RamonGustav]

I think you have a thorough understanding in this matter. You describe in detail all here.

[Dan Devine]

Hi,
This a great blog. When you have the chance please log into dandevineart.blogspot.com or search dandevineart
This is my agricultural sculpture and blog at the Fields Sculpture Park in New York State.
All the best,
Dan Devine

[Heather]

This post had me thinking lots about Stan Herd, a local artist who creates large scale art in fields planted in certain plants to create certain colors, etc. He's famous now, but still returns to the Lawrence area to do projects every once in a while.