Earth Castings
First created from sites in New Mexico in 1970, the ongoing series of earth castings was my homage to the Earth. They arose from the counter-cultural revolution of the time and joined the works of others in the nascent Earth Art Movement. Castings from New England beaches focused on the remarkable patterns of the intertidal zones. Processes of the sun, wind, water, tides, and occasional animal traces are recorded visually in frozen moments of time. Groups of the castings in various media have been shown as wall pieces in gallery installations, sometimes indicating cardinal solar coordinates on the external horizon beyond the walls. Presenting the land out of context invites viewers to see it anew, and to hopefully better appreciate the Earth, their connection to it, and their dependence on it.
Note: Direct castings are actually the reverse—or negatives-- of Earth's original contours. Conceptually, the viewer takes on the point of view of the land itself, looking up and out, symbolically “becoming” the earth.
The Earth Castings were used in gallery and museum installations from 1971 to the present day. For examples, please see Installations. They are also an integral part of the following dome video, exhibited in 2016 at Currents, Santa Fe.
