March 22, 2004
Sculpting Nature
Environmental Artist Nils-Udo
Sunlight falls upon luscious fuchsia bird berries sitting against blades of green grass. Meanwhile, in the cool shade of the forest, the roots of an aged tree twist and intertwine into an intricately alluring pattern along the forest floor. Is this simply nature or could it be art? What if someone arranged the bright berries into a flowerlike pattern surrounding an eye of green grass - or gently brushed away the soil covering the tree's roots to expose their underground pattern? Environmental artist Nils-Udo has done both, using nature as the inspiration and the source of his work. Though the dreamy photographs of his utopian landscapes leave a lasting impression on viewers, Udo's delicate touch and natural materials ensure that his installations leave no enduring effect upon the environments they are intended to accentuate. He creates them not to last, but to transform the space of nature into the space of art - documenting a world that is rapidly becoming extinct, in no small part due to human intervention.
The Bavarian born artist has been creating site-specific installations with natural elements since 1972. Discovering beauty in the natural elements of a particular site, such as the contrasting colors of the berries and grass, he gently intervenes, rearranging the elements to create a site-specific artwork that is simultaneously a part of nature, and an alteration of it. The irony inherent in altering what he seeks to draw attention to - the virginity of nature - does not escape him. In fact, he acknowledges is as a contradiction internal to his work, just as surely as he embraces the fact that nature will wipe out his interventions and reclaim herself. He is driven by the desire to transform the latent possibilities of a landscape, what he terms a "potential utopia", into a reality, if only temporarily. And for Udo, "even one second of a lifetime is enough."
As the technology of the modern world encroaches upon previously unspoiled ecosystems, Udo's delicate interventions remind us of the evanescence of nature herself. The installations are captured in photographs which may be viewed in galleries, in print, or online. Immerse yourself in the art of the natural world by visiting Nils-Udo's virtual gallery at GreenMuseum.org.
For more information visit Greenmuseum.org
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