Path of my Past

So I was thinking about what I would do for this class since the first class and I always imagine using my grandparents’ store especially after discussing the definition of earth art and then seeing Robert Smithson’s Partially Buried Woodshed. The Woodshed reminded me of the essence of buildings in decay and after working on their store over Christmas break I had already begun to formulate my idea for this project. The store, even though it has a very unique history, is pretty dilapidated.  The shop symbolizes a connection to my family because it is how my parents’ families first intertwined. My mother’s father and my dad’s grandfather were business partners in the moonshine industry before my parents were born. My grandparents have two buildings that were their shops, one is from the 1920’s and the other building was constructed in the 1940’s after they needed more space for their expanding enterprise.

My grandparents’ house is in the woods behind it and every day they would walk through the woods in order to open the store, this led to my original plan, I thought I would place stones where the old path was a way to help remember their past. The path would also be symbolic of a return to a much simpler era; a time when humans lived in relative harmony with the earth, especially in the particular part of rural Virginia. When I arrived with this project in mind I immediately surveyed the area, and much to my chagrin there was no large rocks present to construct a pathway. Seeing that there were no large rocks, but many branches and twigs everywhere, reminded me of a story my dad told me about the shop. He said that my grandfather and his brothers built the shop from various woods and materials found on their land, and hand cut them to construct the buildings, I realized that I should do the same with my path.

Path looking toward the shop

Path looking towards their home.

Many defining factors of earth art flooded my brain as I cooked up my and improved plan for my project. How the buildings’ decay and ruin since my grandmother stopping living there became highly reminiscent of Smithson’s work. There is so much family history and even cultural history in this spot that I felt overwhelmed just by thinking about my project. The location is in the middle of nowhere and is surrounded by nature, from the trees in every direction and the river down the hill. I felt transcendental about the whole process of recreating this trail and seeing the decay but also seeing how the trail, even though it was covered, was still visible.

So I recreated the path that they walked every day by outlining it with logs and sticks and boards (that were a part of the original building that were just lying around the bases of the buildings), which was perfect considering it represented the creation of the store. The woods as seen in the previous pictures are filled with different branches and logs, representing the trees that my grandfather and great-uncles used to create the buildings. I gathered bundles of materials and then proceeded to outline the trail. I then wanted to remove all the leaves from my trail to show the wet ground underneath in hopes I could leave my own imprint in the soil. I liked how when I raked away the leaves I felt like I was raking away the years of decay the land had accumulated since my grandmother moved away. I found all sorts of trash from food containers to old alcohol bottles, but I removed them to create the pure unadulterated path that would have been present for my grandmother. I also hoped by raking away the leaves the ground will in time begin to show new growth just like my family is fixing the old building with new structures.

 Once I had raked all the leaves out of the path, I walked several times through the mud and left my bare footprint going toward their house and toward the shop to symbolize all the times my ancestors walked the path. The ground was freezing and when I was done it took several minutes to warm up my toes, because even though it was a nice day the forest ground had been blanketed for so long the actual earth was left cold and wet. The ritual was nice and the whole process let me see earth art in a new way. I liked doing one thing and then immediately understanding why I picked something or did a certain thing. I appreciated the process and loved how I got to feel like part of my family’s past and culture.

My work was inspired by Ana Mendieta and Richard Long’s work. Mendieta always used her culture or family history as inspiration for her work and I liked how I tried to do the same thing in my own way. The idea of reconnection may not be entirely obvious to the unsuspecting spectator of my work, but the way that it affected was one of the most enjoyable and powerful pieces of the work in my opinion. I also like how she left her imprint by using her body. I liked the idea of just using my feet that also makes me think of Richard Long’s work and exploring the land and the simplicity of creating a line or a path and make it represent a journey. Overall I really enjoyed creating this project, and it gave me a new understanding and appreciation for earth art. I hope that I can maintain the path and keep the connection between myself and my family alive for yet another generation.

Beginning of my final project.

I'm still working on my final project, but I thought I would share pictures of the location so you can get an idea of what I imagine. So this is my grandparents old store. One is from the 1920s and the other built in the 1940s. My grandparents house is in the woods behind it and every day they would walk through the woods and so I thought I would place stones where the old path was to remember their past. The repetition of the stones would also play into the concept of the human dominance over nature, as I would be altering the earth's surface. The path would also be symbolic of a return to a much more simple era, the time when humans lived with relative harmony with the earth, especially in the particular part of rural Virginia.

There are a few concerns that I will have to address in regards to my project, the most notable is the problem of the juxtaposition of the newly constructed deck ( as seen below), and the newly placed gravel. I will hopefully be able to find a way to manipulate the path so that these two specific points don't interfere to heavily with my work. I feel that there may be a way to tie them into the overall work someway regarding the idea of "time" and "change" as the path does have some of that connotation attached to it.  Overall however, I think the Store provides an excellent location to express the ideas that I want to target involving the generations of my family that have used it. One can tell merely from the pictures that the fingerprints of my family are all over it.

The path, which can almost be made out in the picture below collected my grandparent's house with the now dilapidated shop. The path of the stones that I place will follow the natural contours of the earth, and proceed to weave in between the trees that are present. This "curving" will ultimately serve two separate but equally important points that help tie together the overall theme of my work. The first, and simpler, point is that curving will follow a natural line. Its hard to fully tell from the picture but the path to their old home followed the natural curvature of the forrest. 

The second purpose that the "curve" of the trail will emulate is that of the strife of human existence, especially in regards to the time in which my grandparents would have used this shop. The ebb and flow of the seasons along with the hardships that came with the shifts in a family whose main reliance was on agriculture, is mirrored by the wave-like nature of the path. It also serves as reminder that even though life may have its ups and downs there is always a end destination to strive for. The most powerful point of my project I feel is the emotional attachment to human emotion that the manipulation of the Earth represents.

Travelogue

So for my travelogue I first wanted to go to downtown Richmond and explore my surroundings on the medical campus since I'm there most of the week. But then I started thinking of my boyfriend's backyard. Its untamed and overgrown and hasn't had landscaping love in a long time. So I explored all of it and saw nature had won! The trees, grasses, leave, ivy and other things that are growing and thriving here.  And from the picture you kind of get a general idea of the small unkept yard.

And from that I got some interesting photos from the area that I never really think about but almost see everyday. I liked how the backyard has a lot of tools and things that could be in use but the wildness that nature produces, makes you feel someplace different than in Richmond.

And then I looked over the fence and saw this garbage can and tried to show the decomposition. I just love how it appears that nature is taking over in this small area.

The picture to the right is a tree that got destroyed during the hurricane and it was just left to decay or probably the part still in the ground will continue to grow even after losing its other half. Nature doesn't wait for anything. It just wants to grow, and it will. 

Later that day after class I explored around the nursing building and found this fence that was blocking 95 from sight. It was also untamed and I liked the view of the cars in the background after this little jungle.  I saw a bunch of garbage like the normal littler you see along the highway, but nature covers it up with more foliage. This little area just appeared to show how nature is trying to break out even in a downtown city.














I also loved the rust on the fence to show decay. I also compared this rusty fence with the new fence protecting the pretty manicured court yard behind the nursing building. Its down below and I liked the juxtaposition of the old and new.

                          Below is more broken glass and litter hidden in the fenced area.

This is my favorite because it shows the tree intertwining with the fence. Like I said when nature wants to grow it will adjust and keep going. I like how my walk turned into exploring areas of my normal day. I really liked how others in class said they wanted to explore their daily outings and actually see it! I love seeing so many things I'd never noticed before and I appreciate it a little better now.