by Erin Raterman
Daily Lobo
Nancy Holt, an internationally known sculpture artist, said she bypasses museum settings to create works that incorporate aspects of their surrounding natural environment. Battling cold and rainy weather, dozens of students and University staff turned out Monday night to hear the presentation.
The presentation was an installment of the John Gaw Meem Lecture Series sponsored by the School of Architecture and Planning. The purpose of the series is to introduce UNM students to individuals who have attained notable accomplishments in architecture and to raise the community’s interest in the art of architecture.
Holt, a sculptor, writer and filmmaker, presented her self-termed “earth art” to a large audience in Northrop Hall. Her lecture, “The Ins and Outs of My Environmental, Site-Specific Sculpture over Three Decades,” detailed some of her career’s work, as well as what site-specific art is.
Holt said she grew tired of the presentation of art in museum settings and sought to create works that incorporate aspects of their surrounding natural environment.
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Her work is displayed across the nation and even the world. Her pieces can be found in Finland, Virginia, Utah, Toronto and Ireland.
Key elements of Holt’s work include celestial bodies, the rising and setting of the sun, water reflections, shadow patterns and time. Holt said with her works, she is concerned about them deteriorating over time, but concedes it is a no-win battle.
Holt attributes the real-life nature of her pieces and the mess that usually accompanies them as the reason they are never presented in museum settings.
“I didn’t go into museums because I was always too muddy,” Holt said. Each of her sculptures incorporates materials found near their building site and they are always outdoors.
Janell Furrow, a third-year UNM architecture student, said she most admired the passion that Holt has for her work.
“My art comes out of the environment instead of using it,” Holt said.
Holt has been creating site-specific sculptures since the late 1960s — often spending up to five years on a single project.
Holt lives in Galisteo, N.M. She says she is drawn to New Mexico because the landscape of the Western United States positively inspires her art.
Alf Simon, director of the landscape architecture program, said that Holt was chosen for the lecture series because of the worldwide impact her work has had.
Holt has received several awards including five National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, two New York Creative Artist fellowships and a Guggenheim fellowship. She has also received an honorary doctorate from the University of South Florida.
