Land Art-Walter Mason

Land Art

Walter Mason

Land Art

The Art Of Nature

2009

22.86 x 15.24 x 0.46 centimeters

     German artist Walter Mason has a tendency to tear things apart and then re-join them, only in slightly modified form. Chunks of ice bristle forming a cold wall, elm leaves are sewn and thrown into the stream, picked leaves of birch found a new home on the lily. As a result, it comes quite extraordinary – intriguing, but a temporary organic art, immortalized in pictures only.

     "This organic art is only temporary – a fleeting moment of organization in a seemingly chaotic world."--Walter Mason. 

     Mason often combines leaves into geometric designs, cuts patterns into them or leaves a trail to create a pattern. The photograph then is the only proof of his creation, which is often ruined or destroyed by a gust of wind or the next storm. Water, stones, leaves, needles and grass all play an important role in his designs, which evolve from in-the-moment inspiration.

      As Mason says on his Tumblr page – “Everything I do is an experiment. If the picture I make is good or not is of little importance in comparison to what I have learned. If the experiment ‘works’ I have the feeling of arrival, of completion, I am finished with the idea. If it doesn’t work I often learn far more; it makes me think about why I failed, and often gives me dozens of new ideas.” The Berlin-based artist has a slew of great images of his work on his Flickr page if you want to see more.

     I think that this Land Art piece fit in perfectly into this gallery because it is used of all natural things, comes straight from the earth, it's beautiful and shocking to look at.