Public art in nature

One thing I noticed during the public art lecture in class was that the examples all seemed to be in similar, urban settings.

Where I’m from in Colorado, however, the most common public art I saw growing up was in nature. As a result, artists limited themselves by not using any artificial materials or anything that would damage the ecosystems.

One artist whose work I saw frequently was Michael Grab. He describes his work as “Gravity Glue,” where he makes art out of rocks using only gravity to keep it together.

He’s based in Boulder, but has created these works all around the world. Despite their subtlety and impermanence, the rock piles became a recognizable feature of some of the areas I grew up around, while also helping to shape the definition of public art.