Approximately 50 students from the College of Architecture, Art and Planning took over the Arts Quad as part of an installation Saturday, filling the normally green space with 2,800 red straw-filled sacks (19” wide x 32” high).
The sacks will be distributed in a “10 feet by 10 feet regular grid that will follow the natural slope of the ground surface,” according to the University. Visiting critics Mauricio Pezo, Sofia von Ellrinchshausen and Yehre Suh are directing the 50 students in their Field project.
[img_assist|nid=36791|title=Hay Fever|desc=Students work to fill and transport bags as part of the field project installation on the Arts Quad on Saturday.|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]
The land art movement has origins on Cornell’s campus. In 1969, Willoughby Sharp curated the Earth Art exhibition at the Andrew Dickson White Museum of Art. In honor of the 40th anniversary of the exhibit, which was directed by Thomas Leavitt, AAP students want to celebrate the anniversary because it was a major part of Cornell’s art history.
Hira Sabuhi ’10, a participant in the Field project, decided to get involved because she “wanted to be involved in one of the biggest installations that takes place in Ithaca’s history.”
While Sabuhi believes that the artwork is a “good endeavor,” she thinks that its success will be determined by how people react to the art.
“A lot of people have been asking about it and have no idea what it is,” Sabuhi said. “Some people think that it was for practical agricultural purposes … I think it will depend on how the rest of campus reacts and that’s something I have to observe more of.”