Land Art – Ecosystem experiments

In retrospective, Land Art projects and large-scale ecosystem experiments rise questions about the manner in which we as humans impact our environment. Researchers even have begun to call our current geological era the Anthropocene, as the effects of human behaviour are so massive and widespread that they have to be acknowledged on a planetary scale.

The presentation provided a suggestion to view experiments on ecosystems (like the Hubbard Brook and Experimental Lake experiments) and works that are categorized as Land Art as two sides of a striving to better understand one’s own position by radically transforming one’s environment. As such, there still has to be a discussion regarding their legitimacy and environmental effects, the comparison to experiments however provides an argument against accusations of vanity and hubris towards Land Art.