Other land artists use ephemeral materials and settings to explore the spectacle of scale, encouraging questions regarding the nature of what art is, and what art can be. His sculptures, which often recall mandalas, utilise ice, snow, fallen leaves, and other natural materials which will quickly melt, or be washed or blown away by their surroundings. Among the most celebrated of land artists is Andy Goldsworthy, whose creations interact intimately with their landscape. Land art was among the first artistic movements to highlight the ephemeral as its raison d’être, and it plays with notions of memory, growth, and erosion, each of which are encapsulated as forces of nature, then crystallised through striking temporary works. Examples such as Fujiko Nakaya’s Fog X FLO, in which amorphous clouds of mist pass through city centres and natural settings, take the essence of ephemera to their logical conclusion, and to genuinely awe-inspiring effect. Their legacy is felt in countless temporary outdoor exhibitions, drawing crowds to gaze in wonder at how spaces can be transformed. Joseph Beuys and his Fluxus Group, an influential DIY collective who staged happenings and disruptive performative pieces, believed that art should be experienced outside the canon of gallery spaces. Modern ephemeral art can be traced to the Berlin and New York art scenes of the 1960s. The act of creation and the focus it provides was believed to be where the significance lay, not in the finished product. Once the mandalas, often made from coloured sand, were completed, they would be scattered to the winds. Indeed, the meditative art of mandalas, which hold a special place in Eastern visual cultures, could be upheld as early examples. While ephemeral artworks are most commonly associated with the artistic vernacular of the 20th and 21st centuries, their origins lie in esoteric traditions of times long since past. The artwork, the materials it is constructed from, and the space in which we encounter them are mere snapshots in time, soon to transform or disappear entirely, after which they exist in our shared memories alone. By accentuating the impermanence of an artwork, and by extension, the impermanence of all that surrounds it, the ephemeral artist and viewer alike gain privileged access to layer upon layer of symbolism and significance. When experienced in situ, ephemeral art allows viewers to experience locations in new ways, and transmits a powerful message regarding the transient nature of the world we inhabit.
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