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Agnes Denes And Her Pursuit ToWARDS AN Ecological Society

by Kassandra Greenhalgh (20056545) 

ARTH 220 Socially Engaged Art |  Professor Kennedy | March 25, 2022

Born in 1931, Agnes Denes is a pioneer of various art movements, she is difficult to classify but many label her a pioneer in conceptual, ecological and environmental art. Agnes Denes' work has propelled a movement of environmental artists to pursue creating works that allow society to see the effects humanity has had on the environment and bring us one step closer to a more ecological society.

Bibliography 

Part 1 - Land Art

[I]“What Is Land Art?” The Utah Museum of Fine Arts. Accessed March 14, 2022. https://umfa.utah.edu/land-art/about. 

[II] “Earth Art Movement Overview.” The Art Story. Accessed March 15, 2022. https://www.theartstory.org/movement/earth-art/. 


Part 2 - Agnes Denes 

[III}Agnes Denes. Accessed January 25, 2022. http://www.agnesdenesstudio.com/works7.html.  

[IV]“Agnes Denes Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story. Accessed March 15, 2022. https://www.theartstory.org/artist/denes-agnes/. 


Part 3 - Tree Mountain 

[V] Rogers, Patrick. “The Art of Agnes Denes May Be as Big (and Long-Lasting) as Her Legacy.” NRDC, March 10, 2020. https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/art-agnes-denes-may-be-big-and-long-lasting-her-legacy. 

[VI] “Tree Mountain - A Living Time Capsule.” Agnes Denes. Accessed March 15, 2022. http://www.agnesdenesstudio.com/works4.html. 

[VII] Eddie Bautista and Elizabeth Yeampierre, “Counter-Power for Climate Justice,” The National History Museum, October 4, 2014 (1:02:26-1:02:35)

[VIII] Valentine, Ben. “How Can Ecological Artists Move beyond Aesthetic Gestures?” Hyperallergic, August 28, 2017. https://hyperallergic.com/394849/how-can-ecological-artists-move-beyond-aesthetic-gestures/.


Part 4 - Wheatfield 
[IX] “Wheatfield - A Confrontation: Battery Park Landfill, Downtown Manhattan.” Agnes Denes. Accessed March 15, 2022. http://www.agnesdenesstudio.com/works7.html. 

[XI] Cohen, Alina. “Agnes Denes's Manhattan Wheatfield Has Only Grown More Poignant.” Artsy, October 15, 2019. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-agnes-deness-manhattan-wheatfield-grown-poignant 

[XII] Remembering Agnes Denes’s “Wheatfield” | THE SHED. YouTube. The Shed, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxYjGy3csTU&ab_channel=TheShed. 


Part 5 - Future Unwritten 

 [XIII] Eddie Bautista and Elizabeth Yeampierre, “Counter-Power for Climate Justice,” The National History Museum, October 4, 2014 (4:38-4:48) 

[XIV] McCarry, Will. “Don't Panic: Reasons for Hope despite a Grim Un Climate Report.” Conservation International, September 30, 2021. https://www.conservation.org/blog/don%E2%80%99t-panic-reasons-for-hope-despite-a-grim-un-climate-report


Part 6 - Art and Social Change

[XV] Duncombe, Stephen. “Does It Work? The Æffect of Activist Art.” Social Research 83, no. 1 (2016): 115–34. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44283398. 

[ XVI] Cameron, Fiona & Hodge, Robert & Salazar, Juan. (2013). Representing climate change in museum space and places. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change. 4. 9-21. 10.1002/wcc.200.


 

Video and Photo Credits: 

Part 1 - Land Art 

Video Footage: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuliRJxCS4Y&ab_channel=AfricaTravelChannel 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-N3vbH52bQ&ab_channel=UtahStateUniversity 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwsFn7LeWyY&t=290s&ab_channel=NGVMelbourne 


Part 2 - Agnes Denes

Video Footage: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYIt3FY0E4I&t=109s&ab_channel=TheShed 


Part 3 - Tree Mountain

Video Footage: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmVFGwNeWcc&t=23s&ab_channel=TheShed  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEz6RAWBpUA&t=262s&ab_channel=TheNaturalHistoryMuseum 


Part 4 - Wheatfield

Photos: 

Agnes Denes, Wheatfield – A Confrontation. Two acres of wheat planted and harvested by the artist on the Battery Park landfill, Manhattan, summer 1982. Commissioned by Public Art Fund. Image courtesy the artist and Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/agnes-denes-prophetic-wheatfield-remains-as-relevant-as-ever 

Agnes Denes, Wheatfield—A Confrontation. Two acres of wheat planted and harvested by the artist on the Battery Park landfill, Manhattan, Summer 1982. Commissioned by Public Art Fund.Photo by John McGrall. Courtesy the artist and Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/agnes-denes-prophetic-wheatfield-remains-as-relevant-as-ever 

“Wheatfield – A Confrontation: Battery Park Landfill, Downtown Manhattan – With Artist in the field,” 1982.Credit...John McGrail, courtesy Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/t-magazine/agnes-denes-art.html 

“Wheatfield – A Confrontation: Battery Park Landfill, Downtown Manhattan – Volunteers Spreading the Soil,” 1982.Credit...© Agnes Denes, courtesy Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/t-magazine/agnes-denes-art.html 

“Wheatfield – A Confrontation: Battery Park Landfill, Downtown Manhattan – Aerial View,” 1982.Credit...© Agnes Denes, courtesy Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/t-magazine/agnes-denes-art.html 

“Wheatfield – A Confrontation: Battery Park Landfill, Downtown Manhattan – Golden Wheat (2),” 1982.Credit...© Agnes Denes, courtesy Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/t-magazine/agnes-denes-art.html 

“Wheatfield – A Confrontation: Battery Park Landfill, Downtown Manhattan – Blue Sky With World Trade Center,” 1982.Credit...© Agnes Denes, courtesy Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/t-magazine/agnes-denes-art.html 

Video Footage: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxYjGy3csTU&t=26s&ab_channel=TheShed 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEhovgODMLI&t=85s&ab_channel=lonelycubicle 


Part 5 - Future Unwritten

Video footage: 

All stock video from https://www.videvo.net/ 


Part 6 - Art & Social Change 

Video footage: 

All stock video from https://www.videvo.net/  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEz6RAWBpUA&t=262s&ab_channel=TheNaturalHistoryMuseum 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXKE0nAMmg4&t=16s&ab_channel=InsideEdition 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc5r8osWauU&ab_channel=CubeLease

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFJuzWhe9EI&ab_channel=theDronalist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPADyd3dN5s&ab_channel=NatureFootage 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmVFGwNeWcc&t=24s&ab_channel=TheShed 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlVqsHFta9w&t=15s&ab_channel=lonelycubicle 

Photos: 

Agnes Denes, Wheatfield – A Confrontation. Two acres of wheat planted and harvested by the artist on the Battery Park landfill, Manhattan, summer 1982. Commissioned by Public Art Fund. Image courtesy the artist and Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/agnes-denes-prophetic-wheatfield-remains-as-relevant-as-ever  

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