- DISCUSS ‘THE STORR; UNFOLDING LANDSCAPE’ AND HOW IT RELATES TO OTHER FORMS OF ART IN AND ‘OF’ THE LAND
- Situated off of the West coast of Scotland the Isle of Skye is host to the impressive and atmospheric Cuillins, an area steeped both in history and folklore, reflective of its imposing presence in the lives of the past and present inhabitants of the island, and marked by continuous geological and environmental change. In August and September of 2005 the NVA, a charity who base themselves in Scotland and specialise in ‘bringing together physical and artistic landscape in…profound site-specific work’, chose to focus upon the ‘Old Man of Storr’, a prominent rock formation on the summit of the Trotternish ridge overlooking Loch Fada, as the subject for an artistic intervention into the landscape. Through a stunning amalgamation of lighting and video installations, evocative performance and sounds and poetry resonant of Gaelic culture the NVA re-presented the familiar natural environment of the mountain in The Storr; Unfolding Landscape. Artists have long explored the intricate balance between art and nature and in particular the project reveals an attitude reminiscent of those of American Land Art and British Walking Art in the 1960’s. In assessing where The Storr; Unfolding Landscape fits into this history of art in and about the land it is first necessary to understand the main ideas behind the project and its position within the relationship between man and environment.
During the course of the work at total of 6500 people over 42 nights were led on a structured walk through woodland into an enclosed corrie situated under high cliffs and then up a sharper gradient to the rocky pinnacle of the Storr from which they were met with views of the surrounding islands of North Rona and Raasay, before descending down an open slope to once again renter the shelter of the trees. Throughout the walk various installations, intended to manipulate the individuals experience of the environment, created an eerie and mystic atmosphere above all resonant of an unacknowledged past, immortalised within the very earth and rock of the Cuillins. The journey taken by the viewer over the mountain echoes the manner in which Smithson’s Mirror Trail, Ithaca, New York of 1969 encouraged the individual to travel out into the landscape to experience the work directly. In visiting The Storr; Unfolding Landscape the individual is similarly encouraged to travel to the Skye and to physically interact with the environment in a structured manner, following the path as others may have followed Smithson’s mirrors. This contrast however also unearths a potential difference between the two works, whereas Smithson’s mirrors create a continuous narrative through the landscape the installations of The Storr could alternatively be perceived as a series of separate artworks transforming the mountain into a gallery space, the individual merely travelling between them to experience each in turn. The strict control over viewers is reminiscent of that exercised by De Maria over visitors to Lightening Field, 1972-1974, despite the vast difference in group numbers.
Within the woodland shadowy figures glided through mist and trees accompanied by the haunting bray of Bronze Age horns, questioning the balance between the spirit world and that of reality, between the past and the present. Such illusions, conjured by the lighting of David Byrant, reflect the designer’s own reaction to the area, in particular that which spoke to him in contemplation of the historic and cultural resonance of the site, and so in following the path chosen for them the viewer is in effect walking another’s walk and experiencing the land as the artist intended for them to do. In this manner The Storr; Unfolding Landscape makes advances in the different ways by which artists have always tried to impose on their audience certain experiences and responses; just as a stylised and intricate pen and sepia landscape by the Romantic artist Samuel Palmer, 1803-1881, portrays the artists recognition of a profound spirituality inherent within nature and encourages the viewer to do so also. In re-presenting the land the artists of the NVA have extended this tradition. Double Sunset 1998 by Copenhagen born artist Olafur Eliasson, b.1967, echoes The Storr in this fresh perspective on natural phenomenon. In installing a fake sun into the horizon of a city so that there appears to be two sunsets, Elliason challenges the viewer to recognise their own lack of recognition of their surrounding environment. NVA itself is an acronym of the Roman ‘nacionale vitae activa’, ‘the right to influence public affairs’, and thus the name embodies the aims of the group to alter how people perceive their environments.
In addition to encouraging the individual to re-assess the landscape through which they walk and manipulating the manner in which they do so through a series of sound and light installations, The Storr; Unfolding Landscape brings to the surface the very pulse and life of the land itself. In uncovering the ‘underlying reality’ of the landscape the work involves itself with forces of entropy so fascinating to land artists such as Robert Smithson, 1938-1973, who emphasised that whilst artists brought attention to sites it was nature that created art. The Black Cuillins themselves are the solidified remains of volcanic magma chambers and marks and striations in the rocks act as reminders of the lava flows that shaped the island. The Storr is presented as testimony to the continuous forces at work in a landscape that to the eye appears almost static, a ‘subtle echoing of the magnificence of what is already there’. When visiting Rozel Point on the Great Salt Lake in Utah, Smithson, in contemplation of Spiral Jetty 1970, depicted how the land itself indicated the form that the work should take through the gyrating power he felt within the scene. The performer Alex Rigg, danced a series of repetitive movements within the Core Faoin at the climax of the climb up the Storr, enforcing recognition of absent powers; ‘where the glacier was; where ice and rock ground and rotated; where gravity pulled the frozen water until it smashed the earth; where oozing liquid slipped around solid sky, falling into the sea below…That’s where I am’. The imitation of such immense forces in the movements of a distant solitary figure, dwarfed by his own shadow upon the surrounding cliffs in turn forces the individual to recognise their own insignificance and to confront their own miniscule existence in light of that of the land. In the words of Sorley Maclean, ‘…this cliff is not dead / It has an immense life of its own…/ And will loom…just as it looms today / After every human being now alive / Has returned, not to rock but to dust’. Historical and cultural heritage are also significant throughout the work and the viewer is challenged continuously to comprehend humanities very existence as ‘invisibly interwoven’ on the surface of the land.
This idea of cultural heritage as embedded within the mountains was perhaps evoked most effectively through the poems and sounds that appeared to resonate from within the land. Composed by Greer Jenssen and played through a hidden sound system, Gaelic poetry and song and the haunting sounds of bronze horns accompanied the viewer on their journey, animating the landscape with long forgotten memories. The specifically Gaelic sounds chosen for The Storr embrace the local heritage of the islands and in particular the poetry of the bard Sorley Maclean, conjures up a strong sense of place specific to the Cuillins and to the history of its people. Maclean’s soft Gaelic drawl pulses through the trees as Byrant’s ghostly figures wander past, reminiscent of the ‘darkness of despair’ imposed by the Highland Clearances. In the corrie Rainer Maria Rilke’s Exposed on the Cliffs of the Heart was recited by a multitude of voices reflecting the intensity of the landscape and assisting Maclean in making the landscape reflective of the ‘wider human condition’; depicting ‘ the soul stripped bare on the hard stone surfaces. Great aspirations dashed and broken like the crags themselves’. The braying of the bronze horns, an instrument modelled upon the horns of the cattle so significant in the lives of the past inhabitants of the Western isles, personifies the very essence of human interaction with the Cuillins. The low drone tells its own story of a lost practise, a lost relationship between man and beast; they ‘convey a sense of fear and magic…that deeper sound world which is shared by all living things…(and) will carry to you the sounds of our ancestors, human and animal, from deep in their throats’. Such powerful sounds bare much similarity to the work of Richard Long, b.1945. Although Long’s work is purely visual his repetitive use of timeless symbols born of moments of particular connection with the land, such as Alaskan Drift Wood Circle of 1977, confront the viewer with recognition of the vastness of time and of the interaction of man with the landscape. The dull bray of the horns and the placing of natural materials into meaningful patterns by Long challenges the individual to understand the intricacy of existence; ‘to stare into this country from a high hill is to become aware that, at some level, bracken, rocks, man and sea are one’. The balance between mankind and the landscape is the very essence of The Storr; Unfolding Landscape.
With landscape as its focus the link between The Storr and other works about the land is evident. In the late 18th century Romanticism saw the genre of landscape art raised beyond its previous status as mere backdrop. The Romantics initiated a deep appreciation for the environment whether of a spiritual orientation or a fascination for the intricacies of nature, both of which are evident in the work of Constable, 1776-1837. In Romantic paintings landscape became the very object of study, admired and infused with sentiment and emotion, subjectively reflective of the human spirit and the individuals response to their surroundings. It is in this manner that The Storr, with its evocative presentation of the natural environment, elevates its subject and consequently contrasts sharply with the treatment of landscape by American Land artists such as Heizer, b.1944. Whilst the majority of Heizer’s monumental earth works are situated out in the impressive landscapes of the American West, such as Complex One, City, begun 1972, in the vast Nevada Desert, the artist denies the significance of the sites context. Heizer denies that any of his work is about a ‘Romanticisation’ of the Western landscape, claiming his choice of site is in fact solely linked to the availability of materials. ‘While invariably dramatically sited… (works of land art are) certainly not involved with ‘landscape’ in any pictorial sense…primary, of course, is their relation to the space around them, but this has little to do with the specificities of ‘view’’. Similarities can however be recognised once again with De Maria’s Lightening Field, De Maria depicting with a greater sensitivity ‘art as place’. Through the permeable nature of the sculpture the viewer is allowed a simultaneous experience of landscape and artwork much as the NVA allows the lighting to be simultaneously impressive for its own sake and to enhance the natural qualities of the environment.
In contrast to much land art The Storr is deeply rooted in the specifics of the site, the mountain offering not only material but also an animating history. The pinnacles and buttresses of the ‘Old Man of Storr’ have long been perceived as ‘powerful, symbolic (and) truthful’ by island inhabitants, beacons welcoming the traveller home, a constant presence throughout many a lifetime, witnessing all. The rocks are perceived as masculine due to their phallic form, and infused with a life of their own through folklore. The rock itself is depicted as wedded to the land, personified as Renee; ‘Who heard his cry. Who became his earth’. The Storr; Unfolding Landscape pays tribute to such heritage and strengthens the bond between artwork and site, emphasising the mystery of the ‘Old Man’ through suggestive lighting effects and powerful sounds; ‘Here is a scene for dark tragedies; here might lurk the fabulous creatures of Celtic mythology; here might rise the altars of some horrid and ghastly faith propitiating the gloomy powers with human sacrifice’. In enticing the imagination through re-presenting the land to the viewer The Storr is reminiscent of the paintings of Paul Nash, 1899-1946, in particular The Land of the Megoliths 1934, in which Nash offers an alternative birds eye perspective of ancient monuments, enhancing their mysterious qualities.
In its site-specificity and its subjective and evocative response to landscape The Storr is evidently embedded within a long tradition of artistic appreciation of the landscape. In making the environment both subject and medium the NVA pushed art about the land to new limits, incorporating a variety of mediums on a grand scale. In examining to what degree The Storr really was an extension of landscape art traditions it is necessary to identify further connections between the work and both that which came before it and that to which it is contemporary. Art involved with the landscape is extremely diverse in its range, incorporating both Romantic landscape paintings and the Non-Sites of Robert Smithson. Such diverse work is initially united by a ‘belief that the creation of each was dependent on a deeply felt reaction, understanding, interest, or concept stemming directly from the natural environment and/ or the processes functioning within it’. Consequently The Storr is evidently included in such a generalised category although at the same time it is unique and distanced from the work of others. Whereas The Storr shares with Richard Long an emphasis on transcendence and ‘deep time’ it differs in its massive scale and its embracing of audience, Long creating work only out of materials he could carry himself and situating them in unmarked locations known only to him. The NVA also echoes the attitude of Richard Long in the impermanence of the installation and a sensitive approach to the fragile environment within which they work, despite the scale rivalling that of Heizer’s Double Negative 1969-1970. Ecological concerns were paramount in the planning of The Storr as the NVA aimed to leave the land unaltered if not better than on their arrival. Explorations were made into ways to reduce the lasting impact on the landscape with helicopters air lifting in heavy equipment to avoid the use of tractors, the cutting of power emissions by 90% through the design of a new environmentally sensitive lightning system and rechargeable power sources, and extensive surveys ensuring that ‘footfall of the path’ was kept at a minimum. The NVA also ensured that both the people and the environment received lasting benefits from their work in the area, building a new path system upon the mountain. This lasting legacy echoes that left to the ‘Biscayne Bay Preservation Fund’ by Christo and Jean Claude following their temporary installation of Surrounded Islands between 1980 and 1983. This large-scale artwork involved the surrounding of eleven islands in the bay with 6 ½ million square feet of floating pink polypropylene for a total of two weeks. In preparation for the work the islands were cleared of material rubbish for both ecological and aesthetic reasons, an extensive survey on the native wildlife was carried out, and $100 000 was donated to assist with the future preservation of the area. Like The Storr, Surrounding Islands was a ‘grand gesture, but civil and even humble in its impermanence’. It is in this manner that The Store yet again mirrors the work of Long. In leaving no lasting imprint on the land the NVA merely framed the environment of the Cuillins, although in a grander, more complex and technologically dependent way, just as Long did in England of 1967, using a wooden frame to highlight a specific area on a facing hillside.
With regards to The Storr’s relation to other contemporary environmental works it is the emphasis on the balance between man and nature that binds it to others. In Modern Nature, Elrich Hill, Aberdeenshire, 2000, by Dalziel and Scullion, the artists place emphasis on the environmental changes occurring in the area by focusing on the disappearing Capercaille. As is achieved in The Storr ‘memories of their presence’ are incited through imitation of the mating call of the male bird through hidden speakers. The contrast between the connotations of fertility in the call and the cold, lifeless forms upon the hill echo the problems of an increasingly urban environment. In contemporary society one can identify feelings of nostalgia for what is perceived as earlier mans closer connection to the land and a yearning for the re-establishment of this bond. The work of Anthony Gormley, in particular Another Place of 1997, again emphasises a wish to bring together man and nature, to ‘reconnect the two; forge a recognition that we are with nature, in nature, part of nature’; much as The Storr encourages the individual to reconnect with the environment through recognition of the intricate relationship between our heritage and the land. The involvement of such artworks with ecological concerns and of The Storr with elements of geology and cultural and natural history highlights the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary art of the land. The land is depicted for more than purely aesthetic reasons, infused with artistic, political and social resonance.
In encouraging the viewer to enter the landscape the NVA effectively severed the bonds between art and the gallery. Whilst rejecting the commoditisation of artwork and creating sculptures out in the land itself walking artists and land artists challenged the role of the gallery space but remained reliant on galleries to present both documentation of their work and elements of their experience. In completely eliminating the role of the gallery the NVA emphasised the immediacy of interaction between the individual and the work. Whilst encouraging groups to undertake a journey of set route and length much like a pilgrimage, The Storr can also be seen as the inevitable ultimate extension of the representation of landscape other mediums. Instead of bringing a depiction of a scene to the viewer, the viewer is transported to the scene to there experience the manipulated landscape in the manner intended by the artist. Moments of transcendence inevitably created by the sublime obscurity of darkness and the huge height of the summit when reached after the difficult ascent also allowed ‘each person to move through the same physical territory, yet experience it from radically different perspectives’ thus remaining true to the traditionally solitary experience one has in the mountains and ensuring that ‘one’s own memories, emotions and spirituality have room to connect’. On reaching the summit the individual is again confronted with the intricate balance between man and nature. Looking back one witnesses the rest of the group trailing along the path behind as a ‘fragile thread of flickering energy’, passing momentarily through an elusive landscape shadowed in darkness much as humanity exists in a world beyond our full comprehension. The view across the neighbouring islands seen from the ‘Old Man’ itself was in turn framed by thirty square miles of light installations representing fallen stars dispersed amongst distant hills. When combined with the haunting melody performed by a Gaelic singer on a distant summit, the viewer was confronted by unavoidable reflections on mortality and feelings of nostalgia for a forgotten past.
In the creation of The Storr; Unfolding Landscape the NVA focuses primarily on re-establishing the age-old connections between humanity and the natural environment with particular emphasis on the Gaelic culture of the Isle of Skye. Through a variety of means the work brings to life the heritage of the site and encourages the individual to recognise their position within a world of multiple of cultural, historic and geological forces. The Storr finds itself positioned within a variety of interactions between art and the landscape, drawing upon the sentiment of Romantic approaches, the sensitivity inherent within contemporary attitudes towards the environment and the Walking Art of artists such as Richard Long, and the grand interventions of American land art. ‘Its mission is to take people on (a journey)…whether physical, emotional or intellectual…(and to create an environment) in which people feel inspired to let go of the familiar and open up to new ways of seeing’. In short the work re-presents the landscape of the Cuillins to force recognition of the reality of existence in relation to our immediate surroundings and the endless expanse of time.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Art in the Land, A Critical anthology of Environmental Art, Alan Sonfist, E.P Duttin Inc., New York, 1983
Earthworks and Beyond, Contemporary art in the Landscape, John Beardsley, Abbeville Press Publishers, New York, 2006
Land Art, Ben Tufnell, Tate Publishing, London, 2006
Landscape, Natural Beauty and the Arts, Edited by Salim Kemal and Ivan Gaskell, Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and the Arts, Mass., 1993
Mountains of the Mind, A History of Fascination, Robert Macfarlane, Granta Books, London, 2003
The Storr, Unfolding Landscap; new Perspectives on Scotlands Land and Culture, Compiled and Edited by Angus Farquhar, Luath Press Ltd, Edinburgh, 2005
Transforming Nature: Art and Landscape, John Haldane, The Art Book, 2003
AH 4146
-MORAG GOULD
3462 WORDS
Art in the Land, A Critical anthology of Environmental Art, Alan Sonfist, 1983, p75
Earthworks and Beyond, Contemporary art in the Landscape, John Beardsley, 2006, p120
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