Andrew Rogers, one of Australian art’s most-famous exports, talks about his relationship with architecture, his new Gerhy commission and the changing nature of land sculptures.
“If we don’t have memory, we don’t have anything,” said Australian sculptor Andrew Rogers. When contributing to the environment, whether through monumental geoglyphs or building design there is a history of space that must be addressed, as well as a legacy.
Land art is a movement that emerged in the US in the late 60s and early 70s, in which sculptures are not placed in the landscape, rather the landscape is the very means of their creation.
The landscape and topography of the land is indivisible from Rogers’ art. The land art always integrates with the land rather than scars it, he said. But there are two views on whether this makes good design, “for me it is always harmonious”, said Rogers, “but there is a view for structures that they need to stand out”.
Fresh from the completion of his 12th site on the Rhythms of Life project, a project which has spread over a decade, across 12 sites, 32 structures and employed 5,000 people over five continents, Rogers’ next challenge is a project with Frank Gehry in California.
“I’m not allowed to tell you where, or what, but I’m excited about working with an architect,” he said. He’s also working on a project in Chile in which building structures interact with land art, of which he’s similarly cagey, but has so far failed to capture the interest of Australian architects.
The challenge of working with Gehry doesn’t phase him. “I take architects with me all over the world to work on these projects,” he said. “I like people who can think and read plans and understand my drawings. I take up to five architects with me to these remote places. I’ve got one architect who’s been working with me on 23 of these structures – he’s been with me for years.”
The relationship between land art and architecture is a natural one, which can bridge the gap between structure and landscape. “I choose land with some special significance, either in terms of vista, history or heritage,” said Roberts.
“The work changes over time and that’s the beauty of it. You see desert sands build up among structures, flowers develop, goats setting up home in them, but 10 year isn’t a very long time in the scheme of things.”
Achieving the much-needed permissions for such giant sculptures is not an easy process. The checks are similar to those needed for a new building, said Roberts, and the structures need to be built just as carefully.
“We do a lot more environmental and impact studies that are used in building structures because the art is going to be there for a very long period of time and the landscape is normally very pristine,” he said.
“In the Mohave Desert we had to do a study to make sure we weren’t encroaching on the habitat of the desert tortoise or the burrowing owl so we’re very careful that what we do fits into the environment. We bring nothing foreign onto the site so that in time, depending on what your view of time is, it will disappear back into the landscape. “
Visit www.andrewrogers.org
