After looking through the various artists websites the one that stood out the most to me was Buster Simpson. I loved his modern take into incorporating art in a real life setting. His sculpture titled Carbon Veil is amazing and I enjoy the colors that illuminate the airport parking ramp at night. Simpson provides a fresh take on artwork that isn’t your average painting; he rather enhances the landscape with amazing sculptures. I also enjoyed Richard Long’s sculptures which all seemed to be a bit stagnant in nature. His sculptures seem to look like they were almost caused by natural forces of nature. Christy Rupp’s work seems to capture nature in its earlier forms thousands of years ago. She does an excellent job creating birds and other prehistoric animals that are now extinct because of humans. The artist that I found the most abnormal was Vaughn Bell. The fact that he creates miniature ecosystems in his artwork that people can put their heads into is something that I have never seen before. I thought that his maize highways were also very unique and something different. Jenna
After looking at the various artists, I felt most captivated by the work of Vaughn Bell. I was especially interested in his Village Green project. I thought that it was such a unique project. These small glass boxes containing different "ecosystems". There was a part where the bottom must have been indented because viewers could stick their heads into the boxes to feel as if they were actually in that biosphere. Christy Rupp's work was interesting because the focus of her work was birds Recreating the bone structures of the birds and other prehistoric animals is a unique skill because it allows people to learn about them even though they are no longer around. Buster Simpson's "Confluence" was unique and intriguing. The fountain seemed simple and modern, yet it stood for something greater. The caption said that the work corresponds to the region's watersheds and its life-giving gift. -Alex
After looking through the artist's websites, I was immediately drawn to the works of Richard Long. I loved looking through his sculptures and seeing the different textures that were shown in the photographs. The use of the black and white really made me look deeper into the picture. I think if some of them were in color, i would not have looked as in depth as i tried to do. I enjoyed Christy Rupp's work as well. The colors that she used for birds stood out to me. The pictures were so busy it took me a minute to look at everything in the picture. The way the birds were shaped in the pictures were very interesting, some were twisted and bent upside down. The artist that i least connected with was Bell. I did not understand some of his works and found them too abstract for me to dissect. Overall i throughly enjoyed viewing the artists works and comparing them. -- Megan
Looking at the artist's websites I have made the conclusion that may favorite is Buster Simpson followed quickly by Vaughn Bell. I believe that Buster's works are so extremely interesting to look at that I have trouble not staring at them and trying to figure out how much time it must take someone to figure out a way to make something that is both functional and aesthetic like he has. My favorite project of Mr. Simpson's has to be the Carbon Veil. I think that is the most interesting piece by him not only because of its magnitude and beauty, but also because of its placement. It was commissioned near an airport in Seattle. I think this is fantastic because of the shear number of people that must drive underneath the sculpture wondering how someone could have gotten such a sculpture created. Also, it is pleasing to the eye so there is no reason for anyone to not see it. Like I said, Vaughn Bell is one of the other artists that I really enjoyed. I like his sculptures because they are so interactive with the viewer. My favorite piece by him is Metropolis. In this work you can literally stick you head in it. I think this unique idea could be the next step of art. I think that some day art will interact with us and we will be able to implement ourselves into the scene. -Tate
I was also drawn to Richard Longs works as well. My favorite sculptures were the ones that had the straight line going forward. My mind and body instantly relaxed when seeing these photographs. I think it is because when I look at the photo of a the straight line going forward, I see myself going forward with my life. Kind of looking into my future sort of thing, and forgetting about the bad of the past. I also thought Buster Simpson work was quite unique. He created some really interesting pieces of work that I would have never imagined to create. I didn't necessarily understand his work and where he was going with it. I like the simple things, but I did appreciate his work as well as the other artists as well. -- Sarah
I really enjoyed looking at the various works of land art from each of the artists. I found the “art work” of the Brightwater Treatment System boring relative to some of the really interesting projects I found on the artists’ websites. The article was really short and I didn’t get much from it. Also, there were only a few pictures and they were really weird looking so it was hard to tell what they were of. I really liked the works of Buster Simpson. It’s kind of hard to explain why but I looked at many of his different projects and I found nearly every single one of them to be interesting and just pleasing to look at. I’ve never really seen anything like the art on his site. I really liked the “Moment” sculpture as well as Ping Pong Plaza. I’ve never really been interesting in architect but I kept marveling over how cool these things looked. I also really enjoyed the work of Richard Long. You could tell that he was from an earlier era than the rest of the artists just by looking at his site. I don’t want to say his artwork is less boring than the others but to me it seems simpler. It seems like he just went out into the wilderness and made some really cool looking designs. I wasn’t very fond of the other artists’ sites. Ryan
The Carbon Veil art work done by Buster Simpson really caught my eye. I love looking at bright colors at of it and like how they can change. This sculpture is located by the Port of Seattle and really brightens up the night. I love looking at bright lights at night in the city. It makes me think of the 35W Bridge that was just built right on the outskirts of the U of M campus. The artist Buster Simpson created this sculpture with a “multi-layered stainless steel hexagonal mesh which functions, like a theatrical scrim to shroud two cylindrical automobile helical ramp structures.” The curtain is able to move when you need to get automobiles in and out of the ramp. I thought that was more than just a sculpture, it was more of a master piece that had a function. It is genius. Another artist that I liked was Richard Long. His art work kind of looks like crop circles. His work deals with natural stones, landscape, and grass. Most of his work is done in black and white which gives it a cool old fashion look to it. He started back in the 1960’s which makes him the oldest artist out of the four artists. --Nick
While carefully looking at the works of art by all of these artists I was drawn to the work of Buster Simpson. The others were definitely talented but they didn’t make me stop and gasp inside my head. Simpson’s work was vibrant and modern and most of the time is was in the middle of a city and integrated into the surroundings. Most of his work seemed as if it was from the future or a very modern take on technology and humanity. On the flip side I did not connect with the work of Christy Rupp. Rupp’s work was the exact opposite of Simpson’s and portrayed the past. Many of the projects were very intricate such as the Vanishing Bird collages. Others seemed more like something from a museum than an actual work of art. All of these artists I looked into were very talented but all in their own way. --Devon
After looking at the artwork of all four artists, I can without a doubt say that the most interesting and intriguing artwork was that of Buster Simpson. His sculptures were amazing. The way they interacted with daily life like his sculpture called the Dekum Bicycle Rack was really awesome. My favorite sculpture was the Carbon Veil. I loved how the light reflected throughout the parking ramp, and that the shape of both the mesh and the structure itself were both hexagons. The other sculpture that I found really captivating to look at was Incidence. It was neat how the sculpture interacted with the water beneath it. The sky reflects onto the water and then the water reflects onto the sculpture, making it seem as though the sky itself is reflecting off of the structure. I enjoy this concept of the earth interacting with the sculpture to make beauty. - Kayla
After looking through the webpages of these artists, I was particularly interested in the work of Buster Simpson. His work not only is very appealing to the viewer by way of bright and vibrant colors, but also by his very unique style. Many of his works are from urban and metro areas, which is very appealing to me for numerous reasons. I really enjoy how he incorporates different angles and lighting to intensify the photographs. Everything in his pictures looks very clean cut and modern in a way that really intrigues me. Although some of the pieces are quite basic and not very complex, they never fail to bring a very abstract aspect to light and really accent different parts of the urban environment. I also really enjoy the uniqueness of his work, even if it is something as basic as a bike rack he seems to capture an uncommon view. He has a style with a wide range from basic and small to extravagant and miraculous. -Derek
After browsing all the artists websites the artists that i enjoyed the most were Buster Simpson and Richard Long. Simpson's work that stood out the most to me was carbon veil. The sculpture is so eye-catching. when it is dark out that the colors reflect off the mesh. I would really like to walk through that structure sometime. I also really enjoyed Richard Long's sculpture album. His photographs of his walks were stunning. The landscapes he walked and the way he presented his picture in mostly black and white was captivating. I did not enjoy christy rupp or vaughn bell's website because i did not understand their artwork. I do not understand what they were trying to get across to their viewers. -sydney
As I browsed the websites I found myself to be very impressed with the art work and the installations. I really appreciated how well the artists could incorporate nature, even physical pieces of nature like Earth art into their work.
I loved the architectural and modern approach that Buster Simpson had with his large fluorescent works. They are certainly contemporary, but with an elegance that I think was inspired by natural lines and shapes in the natural world.
Vaughn Bell did a lot of installations that make people think more about the environment, perhaps in a different way. For instance his exhibit called "personal landscapes", which I found hilarity and innocence in, invoked thought about personifying nature in sense. I greatly enjoy that exhibit.
Richard Long's work was one of my favorites, I got very lost in the pieces as my eyes followed the delicately placed focal points. I loved how crisp and cyclic his work is. I also really like his Muddy water piece. The intense energy the mud has from being splashed gives it life but also meaning, in that, it is portraying environmental pollution.
I loved all the works by these artists and I liked how each had a very distinct methodology for getting their point across, through big and small pieces of earth art.
-Emily
I found the Bridgewater Treatment Plant to be very interesting. I liked that they turned something that wouldn't always be necessarily a plesant thing to view, sewage plants are typically not something most people go out of their way to see, in to a unique and attractive art form. It was appealing to me that some of the shapes on the plant represented molecules of water, which connected the art to the element it was surrounded by, but also wasn't the typical blue waves that most people use to depict water. I thought it was very creative. Also after viewing the different artists photos and works, Vaughn Bell stood out to me. I liked how the viewers could experience his work and interact with it rather than just stand back and look at it. I think that art such as this has a larger impact on people versus just viewing a picture.
-Ashley
After viewing all of these different websites, I gained a greater appreciation for land art. A few artists stood out in my mind, although all were interesting in their own way, as they were all trying to portray different messages. Buster Simpson's incorporation of modern landscapes made his pieces very captivating to me. His use of colors and fixtures made an ordinary environment shift into a canvas for creativity and beauty. Richard Long's dedication to his art (pacing back and forth) definitely made a statement in my mind to the kind of work that artists like this out into their pieces. His use of the natural, and the slight shift of the human hand made you look twice and think about the possibilities of art in nature. Vaughn Bell's little personal environment's were also very interesting. Think about if someone wanted to have one of those for any different landscape they chose. There's a money making idea. Anyways, these artists helped make me expand my idea of what art is, and what it can be. Scottie.
I became very intrigued with the concept of earth art right away because I liked the idea you had to travel to seek the art out. The first artist to really catch my eye was Richard Long. His photographs possessed something in them that drew me too them: the lines, the texture, it simply made me think. The simplicity of the lines and the vast amount of room for interpretation let my mind run wild. One that really struck me was the circle with the children running around it. It brought me back to my childhood when the simplest things would bring me the most joy, for example a cardboard box. Also, I feel like that’s what Richard is trying to convey to his audience that the simplest things can still bring the most meaning and pleasure to people. We don’t need art to be super complex and overwhelming art to get a big meaning. I think people are too wrapped into the stereotypical definition or look of art and the general public needs to open their eyes to new forms especially land art because some of it like Buster Simpsons and Vaughn bell is truly incredible. -Liz
After looking through the various artists websites the one that stood out the most to me was Buster Simpson. I loved his modern take into incorporating art in a real life setting. His sculpture titled Carbon Veil is amazing and I enjoy the colors that illuminate the airport parking ramp at night. Simpson provides a fresh take on artwork that isn’t your average painting; he rather enhances the landscape with amazing sculptures. I also enjoyed Richard Long’s sculptures which all seemed to be a bit stagnant in nature. His sculptures seem to look like they were almost caused by natural forces of nature. Christy Rupp’s work seems to capture nature in its earlier forms thousands of years ago. She does an excellent job creating birds and other prehistoric animals that are now extinct because of humans. The artist that I found the most abnormal was Vaughn Bell. The fact that he creates miniature ecosystems in his artwork that people can put their heads into is something that I have never seen before. I thought that his maize highways were also very unique and something different. Jenna
After looking at the various artists, I felt most captivated by the work of Vaughn Bell. I was especially interested in his Village Green project. I thought that it was such a unique project. These small glass boxes containing different "ecosystems". There was a part where the bottom must have been indented because viewers could stick their heads into the boxes to feel as if they were actually in that biosphere. Christy Rupp's work was interesting because the focus of her work was birds Recreating the bone structures of the birds and other prehistoric animals is a unique skill because it allows people to learn about them even though they are no longer around. Buster Simpson's "Confluence" was unique and intriguing. The fountain seemed simple and modern, yet it stood for something greater. The caption said that the work corresponds to the region's watersheds and its life-giving gift. -Alex
After looking through the artist's websites, I was immediately drawn to the works of Richard Long. I loved looking through his sculptures and seeing the different textures that were shown in the photographs. The use of the black and white really made me look deeper into the picture. I think if some of them were in color, i would not have looked as in depth as i tried to do. I enjoyed Christy Rupp's work as well. The colors that she used for birds stood out to me. The pictures were so busy it took me a minute to look at everything in the picture. The way the birds were shaped in the pictures were very interesting, some were twisted and bent upside down. The artist that i least connected with was Bell. I did not understand some of his works and found them too abstract for me to dissect. Overall i throughly enjoyed viewing the artists works and comparing them. -- Megan
Looking at the artist's websites I have made the conclusion that may favorite is Buster Simpson followed quickly by Vaughn Bell. I believe that Buster's works are so extremely interesting to look at that I have trouble not staring at them and trying to figure out how much time it must take someone to figure out a way to make something that is both functional and aesthetic like he has. My favorite project of Mr. Simpson's has to be the Carbon Veil. I think that is the most interesting piece by him not only because of its magnitude and beauty, but also because of its placement. It was commissioned near an airport in Seattle. I think this is fantastic because of the shear number of people that must drive underneath the sculpture wondering how someone could have gotten such a sculpture created. Also, it is pleasing to the eye so there is no reason for anyone to not see it. Like I said, Vaughn Bell is one of the other artists that I really enjoyed. I like his sculptures because they are so interactive with the viewer. My favorite piece by him is Metropolis. In this work you can literally stick you head in it. I think this unique idea could be the next step of art. I think that some day art will interact with us and we will be able to implement ourselves into the scene. -Tate
I was also drawn to Richard Longs works as well. My favorite sculptures were the ones that had the straight line going forward. My mind and body instantly relaxed when seeing these photographs. I think it is because when I look at the photo of a the straight line going forward, I see myself going forward with my life. Kind of looking into my future sort of thing, and forgetting about the bad of the past. I also thought Buster Simpson work was quite unique. He created some really interesting pieces of work that I would have never imagined to create. I didn't necessarily understand his work and where he was going with it. I like the simple things, but I did appreciate his work as well as the other artists as well. -- Sarah
I really enjoyed looking at the various works of land art from each of the artists. I found the “art work” of the Brightwater Treatment System boring relative to some of the really interesting projects I found on the artists’ websites. The article was really short and I didn’t get much from it. Also, there were only a few pictures and they were really weird looking so it was hard to tell what they were of. I really liked the works of Buster Simpson. It’s kind of hard to explain why but I looked at many of his different projects and I found nearly every single one of them to be interesting and just pleasing to look at. I’ve never really seen anything like the art on his site. I really liked the “Moment” sculpture as well as Ping Pong Plaza. I’ve never really been interesting in architect but I kept marveling over how cool these things looked. I also really enjoyed the work of Richard Long. You could tell that he was from an earlier era than the rest of the artists just by looking at his site. I don’t want to say his artwork is less boring than the others but to me it seems simpler. It seems like he just went out into the wilderness and made some really cool looking designs. I wasn’t very fond of the other artists’ sites. Ryan
The Carbon Veil art work done by Buster Simpson really caught my eye. I love looking at bright colors at of it and like how they can change. This sculpture is located by the Port of Seattle and really brightens up the night. I love looking at bright lights at night in the city. It makes me think of the 35W Bridge that was just built right on the outskirts of the U of M campus. The artist Buster Simpson created this sculpture with a “multi-layered stainless steel hexagonal mesh which functions, like a theatrical scrim to shroud two cylindrical automobile helical ramp structures.” The curtain is able to move when you need to get automobiles in and out of the ramp. I thought that was more than just a sculpture, it was more of a master piece that had a function. It is genius. Another artist that I liked was Richard Long. His art work kind of looks like crop circles. His work deals with natural stones, landscape, and grass. Most of his work is done in black and white which gives it a cool old fashion look to it. He started back in the 1960’s which makes him the oldest artist out of the four artists. --Nick
While carefully looking at the works of art by all of these artists I was drawn to the work of Buster Simpson. The others were definitely talented but they didn’t make me stop and gasp inside my head. Simpson’s work was vibrant and modern and most of the time is was in the middle of a city and integrated into the surroundings. Most of his work seemed as if it was from the future or a very modern take on technology and humanity. On the flip side I did not connect with the work of Christy Rupp. Rupp’s work was the exact opposite of Simpson’s and portrayed the past. Many of the projects were very intricate such as the Vanishing Bird collages. Others seemed more like something from a museum than an actual work of art. All of these artists I looked into were very talented but all in their own way. --Devon
After looking at the artwork of all four artists, I can without a doubt say that the most interesting and intriguing artwork was that of Buster Simpson. His sculptures were amazing. The way they interacted with daily life like his sculpture called the Dekum Bicycle Rack was really awesome. My favorite sculpture was the Carbon Veil. I loved how the light reflected throughout the parking ramp, and that the shape of both the mesh and the structure itself were both hexagons. The other sculpture that I found really captivating to look at was Incidence. It was neat how the sculpture interacted with the water beneath it. The sky reflects onto the water and then the water reflects onto the sculpture, making it seem as though the sky itself is reflecting off of the structure. I enjoy this concept of the earth interacting with the sculpture to make beauty. - Kayla
After looking through the webpages of these artists, I was particularly interested in the work of Buster Simpson. His work not only is very appealing to the viewer by way of bright and vibrant colors, but also by his very unique style. Many of his works are from urban and metro areas, which is very appealing to me for numerous reasons. I really enjoy how he incorporates different angles and lighting to intensify the photographs. Everything in his pictures looks very clean cut and modern in a way that really intrigues me. Although some of the pieces are quite basic and not very complex, they never fail to bring a very abstract aspect to light and really accent different parts of the urban environment. I also really enjoy the uniqueness of his work, even if it is something as basic as a bike rack he seems to capture an uncommon view. He has a style with a wide range from basic and small to extravagant and miraculous. -Derek
After browsing all the artists websites the artists that i enjoyed the most were Buster Simpson and Richard Long. Simpson's work that stood out the most to me was carbon veil. The sculpture is so eye-catching. when it is dark out that the colors reflect off the mesh. I would really like to walk through that structure sometime. I also really enjoyed Richard Long's sculpture album. His photographs of his walks were stunning. The landscapes he walked and the way he presented his picture in mostly black and white was captivating. I did not enjoy christy rupp or vaughn bell's website because i did not understand their artwork. I do not understand what they were trying to get across to their viewers. -sydney
As I browsed the websites I found myself to be very impressed with the art work and the installations. I really appreciated how well the artists could incorporate nature, even physical pieces of nature like Earth art into their work.
I loved the architectural and modern approach that Buster Simpson had with his large fluorescent works. They are certainly contemporary, but with an elegance that I think was inspired by natural lines and shapes in the natural world.
Vaughn Bell did a lot of installations that make people think more about the environment, perhaps in a different way. For instance his exhibit called "personal landscapes", which I found hilarity and innocence in, invoked thought about personifying nature in sense. I greatly enjoy that exhibit.
Richard Long's work was one of my favorites, I got very lost in the pieces as my eyes followed the delicately placed focal points. I loved how crisp and cyclic his work is. I also really like his Muddy water piece. The intense energy the mud has from being splashed gives it life but also meaning, in that, it is portraying environmental pollution.
I loved all the works by these artists and I liked how each had a very distinct methodology for getting their point across, through big and small pieces of earth art.
-Emily
I found the Bridgewater Treatment Plant to be very interesting. I liked that they turned something that wouldn't always be necessarily a plesant thing to view, sewage plants are typically not something most people go out of their way to see, in to a unique and attractive art form. It was appealing to me that some of the shapes on the plant represented molecules of water, which connected the art to the element it was surrounded by, but also wasn't the typical blue waves that most people use to depict water. I thought it was very creative. Also after viewing the different artists photos and works, Vaughn Bell stood out to me. I liked how the viewers could experience his work and interact with it rather than just stand back and look at it. I think that art such as this has a larger impact on people versus just viewing a picture.
-Ashley
After viewing all of these different websites, I gained a greater appreciation for land art. A few artists stood out in my mind, although all were interesting in their own way, as they were all trying to portray different messages. Buster Simpson's incorporation of modern landscapes made his pieces very captivating to me. His use of colors and fixtures made an ordinary environment shift into a canvas for creativity and beauty. Richard Long's dedication to his art (pacing back and forth) definitely made a statement in my mind to the kind of work that artists like this out into their pieces. His use of the natural, and the slight shift of the human hand made you look twice and think about the possibilities of art in nature. Vaughn Bell's little personal environment's were also very interesting. Think about if someone wanted to have one of those for any different landscape they chose. There's a money making idea. Anyways, these artists helped make me expand my idea of what art is, and what it can be. Scottie.
I became very intrigued with the concept of earth art right away because I liked the idea you had to travel to seek the art out. The first artist to really catch my eye was Richard Long. His photographs possessed something in them that drew me too them: the lines, the texture, it simply made me think. The simplicity of the lines and the vast amount of room for interpretation let my mind run wild. One that really struck me was the circle with the children running around it. It brought me back to my childhood when the simplest things would bring me the most joy, for example a cardboard box. Also, I feel like that’s what Richard is trying to convey to his audience that the simplest things can still bring the most meaning and pleasure to people. We don’t need art to be super complex and overwhelming art to get a big meaning. I think people are too wrapped into the stereotypical definition or look of art and the general public needs to open their eyes to new forms especially land art because some of it like Buster Simpsons and Vaughn bell is truly incredible. -Liz