Post by syzygy on Mar 20, 2018 9:27:21 GMT
Wheatfield - A Confrontation © Agnes Denes
2 acres of wheat planted & harvested by the artist on the Battery Park landfill, Manhattan summer l982
After months of preparations, in May l982, a 2-acre wheat field was planted on a landfill in lower Manhattan, two blocks from Wall Street and the World Trade Center, facing the Statue of Liberty. Two hundred truckloads of dirt were brought in and 285 furrows were dug by hand cleared of rocks and garbage. The seeds were sown by hand and the furrows covered with soil. The field was maintained for four months, cleared of wheat smut, weeded, fertilized and sprayed against mildew fungus, and an irrigation system set up. The crop was harvested on August 16 and yielded over 1000 pounds of healthy, golden wheat.
“Wheatfield – A Confrontation: Battery Park Landfill, Downtown Manhattan – Blue Sky With World Trade Center,” 1982.Credit...© Agnes Denes, courtesy Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects
source: nytimes.com
Copyright Agnes Denes, courtesy Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects, NY
Planting and harvesting a field of wheat on land worth $4.5 billion created a powerful paradox. Wheatfield was a symbol, a universal concept, it represented food, energy, commerce, world trade, economics. It referred to mismanagement, waste, world hunger and ecological concerns. It called attention to our misplaced priorities. The harvested grain traveled to twenty-eight cities around the world in an exhibition called 'The International Art Show for the End of World Hunger", organized by the Minnesota Museum of Art (l987-90). The seeds were carried away by people who planted them in many parts of the globe.
P.S. The above text written in 1982 has now added poignancy and relevance after 9/11/01. © Agnes Denes
Wheatfield—A Confrontation was commissioned by the Public Art Fund.
***
source:
www.publicartfund.org/view/exhibitions/5706_wheatfields_for_manhattan
Agnes Denes on Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Denes
2 acres of wheat planted & harvested by the artist on the Battery Park landfill, Manhattan summer l982
After months of preparations, in May l982, a 2-acre wheat field was planted on a landfill in lower Manhattan, two blocks from Wall Street and the World Trade Center, facing the Statue of Liberty. Two hundred truckloads of dirt were brought in and 285 furrows were dug by hand cleared of rocks and garbage. The seeds were sown by hand and the furrows covered with soil. The field was maintained for four months, cleared of wheat smut, weeded, fertilized and sprayed against mildew fungus, and an irrigation system set up. The crop was harvested on August 16 and yielded over 1000 pounds of healthy, golden wheat.
“Wheatfield – A Confrontation: Battery Park Landfill, Downtown Manhattan – Blue Sky With World Trade Center,” 1982.Credit...© Agnes Denes, courtesy Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects
source: nytimes.com
Copyright Agnes Denes, courtesy Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects, NY
Planting and harvesting a field of wheat on land worth $4.5 billion created a powerful paradox. Wheatfield was a symbol, a universal concept, it represented food, energy, commerce, world trade, economics. It referred to mismanagement, waste, world hunger and ecological concerns. It called attention to our misplaced priorities. The harvested grain traveled to twenty-eight cities around the world in an exhibition called 'The International Art Show for the End of World Hunger", organized by the Minnesota Museum of Art (l987-90). The seeds were carried away by people who planted them in many parts of the globe.
P.S. The above text written in 1982 has now added poignancy and relevance after 9/11/01. © Agnes Denes
Wheatfield—A Confrontation was commissioned by the Public Art Fund.
***
source:
www.publicartfund.org/view/exhibitions/5706_wheatfields_for_manhattan
Agnes Denes on Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Denes
Wheatfields for Manhattan.kmz (1.72 KB)