LAND/ART
In 2009 a group of New Mexico arts organizations joined together to present LAND/ART, an exciting series of exhibitions, site-specific art works, and lectures exploring the relationships between land, art, and community.
Many of the pieces that came out of the project can still be seen near the City of Albuquerque Open Space Visitor Center.
See www.landartnm.org 
or download the official LAND/ART guide 
for more information about this unique project.
THE FLYWAY PROJECT
Flyway is an iconic piece of public art that is located near the City of Albuquerque Open Space Visitor Center at the corner of Coors and Bosque Meadows Road.
Documentary Video: Flight Path: The Flyway Project ,
by Albuquerque Public Art program. Aritst Robert Wilson talks about Flyway his latest work that was commissioned by the Albuquerque Public Art Urban Enhancment program.
INSTALLATIONS IN THE BOSQUE
X MARKS THE SPOT! Locate the LAND/ART sites near the Open Space Visitor Center with this handy "Treasure Map." (JPEG file, 633 KB)
CUBE
Robert Wilson
Sketches for Cube, Robert Wilson
An installation made from a segment of fallen cottonwood trunk at its core, and reclaimed heavy-gauge wire coiled sparingly into open rectangular building blocks that will surround the trunk. The significance of Cube is in its symbolic representation of the Rio Grande Bosque: a preserved natural corridor coursing through the urbanization of the Albuquerque Metropolitan area. The cottonwood represents this life-giving habitat.
THREE POLE SCULPTURES
Matthew Chase-Daniel
Images: left, Gourd Pole, 2006; right: Gourd Pole (detail), 2006, Matthew Chase-Daniel
An installation of three pole sculptures composed from natural, locally-gathered materials of the Bosque. "Like a political flag, the sculpture also functions as a signpost. An allegiance to and an alliance with the natural world is expressed, raised high for all to see."
SALT CEDAR + JETTY JACKS = GREEN
Jill Guarino Brown
An installation that provides a use for the existing Jetty Jacks to become water harvesting features within the Bosque. Located on site adjacent to the walking path along the river.
ARBOREAL DOME
Benjamin Forgey
Sketch for Arboreal Dome and Built Dome, Benjamin Forgey
Constructed of downed, dead cottonwood branches found in the Bosque, the dome is site specific and envisioned as a structure for contemplating the bosque environment, as a place for story telling, tai chi or countless other human uses. It is also a sculpture in and of itself made from the materials found within the forest and in constant "dialog" with the "dome" of branches of the living trees around it. The naturally bleached and barkless branches of the dome would be visible from many aspects along the bosque trail.
PAINTED JETTY JACKS
Zach Meisner
Located in the south-east side of the River Loop Trail in the Bosque, Meisner will use organic milk-based paints that are environmentally safe (VOC free) and designed to bio-degrade to re-color the existing Jetty Jacks, altering the appearance of their presence in the Bosque and the viewer's perception of the Jacks in this environment.
ABOUT LAND/ART 2009
In 2009 a group of New Mexico arts organizations joined together to present LAND/ART, an exciting series of exhibitions, site-specific art works, and lectures exploring the relationships between land, art, and community.
Above: Anne Cooper's Land Art Piece, Los Poblanos Fields Open Space
The Open Space Division will participate in LAND/ART through the following programs for Summer/Fall 2009:
-
June 21st, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm, LAND/ART opening reception
- 60 Water Weaving Women. Summer Solstice, June 21, 2009.
- Anne Cooper will install an environmental art piece at the Los Poblanos Fields Open Space.
- The Open Space Division will present a group of temporary outdoor projects at Open Space sites, with a map and hiking tour of the works, and an exhibition in the Open Space Visitor Center gallery.
PERFORMANCE: Sunday, June 21, 2009 during the Summer solstice
SIXTY WATER WEAVING WOMEN AT LA ORILLA CANAL
Dominique Mazeaud, Elizabeth Wiseman & Bobbe Besold
A ritual performance taking place the afternoon of the Summer Solstice intended to express and encourage gratitude and awareness of the water source that flows through the city; a constant presence of a life force that is rarely noticed.
The ritual performance, 60 WATER WEAVING WOMEN at La Orilla Canal, by Bobbe Besold, Dominique Mazeaud and Elizabeth Wiseman, is a site specific event, honoring water with gratitude and encouraging awareness of the tireless presence of this essential life force, so often taken for granted and maltreated. The choreographed ritual of gestures and sound will be performed by 60 women in white on the west side of the canal.
Our work will weave a web of goodwill through creativity. Therefore, attention is brought to drawing in community groups and their members, previously unconnected, to participate. A few of the organizations are: CARD (Citizens Against Nuclear Dumping), Agua Es Vida Action Team, Amigos Bravos, Guadalupe Sustainable Gardens, Sustainaibility Trust, Ditches and Trails, Eco-Village Design Southwest, UNM, the Spiritual Renewal Center, Water Weaving Women from Santa Fe, etc.
OPEN SPACE VISITOR CENTER GALLERY
GATHERINGS
Becky Holtzman & Linda Holland
Opening on Saturday May 2
and running through June 25, 2009.
Opening celebration on May 2, 1-4 pm at the Open Space Visitor Center.
Images: left, sketch for River Bed, Becky Holtzman; right: Gatherings, Linda Holland
Read more about the Gatherings exhibit and see biographies of the artists.
GATHERED & WOVEN
Weavers Guild/Nan Simpson & Susan Gutt
July – August, 2009
Images: weavings, Susan Gutt
In conjunction with LAND/ART, Open Space will host an exhibition of weavings derived form exotic and indigenous flora and will host a variety of demonstrations relating to land-based arts.
A PECULIAR HUSH
Danielle Rae Miller
June 1 – August 29, 2009
Big Bertha, 2008, Danielle Rae Miller
An installation of dead wood tree branches from the Bosque and light and shadow-play inside the Open Space Visitor Center. Viewers will encounter a physical "painting" in the space around them as the shadows of the branches move, play and mingle with their own.
KAMMER 2.1: NEW MEXICO CENTRAL EDITION
Stephen Ausherman
June 1 – August 31, 2009
Stephen Ausherman, left,Chatter (Bond Volcano); right, Los Duendes (Golden Open Space), 2009, video stills from the Kammer 2.1 series
Recipient of a New Visions Award from the NM Film Office, Kammer 2.1 is an interactive video-art display that provides nontraditional interpretations of Open Space and other public lands. Located in the Visitor Center reception area.