AndrewRogers

Andrew Rogers is a prolific contemporary artist who creates, among his many works, land art that deals with the issues of community, the environment, and even sustainability. This sculptor from Australia has constructed a series of geoglyphs that span the globe from Nepal to Chile called __The Rhythms of Life__. The works located in Nepal were created in the towns of Jomsom and Pokhara. __Labyrinth__ and __Knot__, measuring 100 by 100 meters and 60 by 60 meters respectively are created of stone quarried or acquired locally. The works are, in themselves, aesthetically pleasing simply from a design standpoint, with the __Knot’s__ strong geometric forms and the curvilinear spiral of __Labyrinth__. Rogers sometimes creates designs with personal significance to him and also often incorporates native images of the location of the work. __Knot’s__ interwoven lines symbolize concepts from Buddhism about eternity and the interconnectedness of the universe. There is even a miniature stupa built on site. However, the real beauty of Roger’s geoglyphs comes from their relationship with the community and the landscape they are constructed in. __Knot__ is located beside a sacred stream that winds at the bottom of a deep gorge surrounded by the expansive landscape of Nepal. This stream is a staple of community life, as the citizens of Pokhara use its water for multiple practical and more sacred purposes. Indeed, Roger’s incorporated the people of Pokhara directly in the building process by collaborating with local officials to hire them as workers who actually constructed the geoglyph themselves, under his direction. This creates a humanitarian aspect to the work, with Rogers supplying jobs to the locals and allowing them to feel a stronger connection to the work that now shares their space among the Himalayas. Roger’s works across the globe in Chile in 2004 that preceded the Nepal geoglyphs reflect this same theme. The design in __Ancient Language__ is a large lizard-like shape in a stone that reflects the hues of the Atacama Desert and derives from the artistic tradition of Chile. This geoglyph, is composed of rock walls and makes a viewer contemplate the beauty of the surrounding desert to the same degree one would appreciate the forms of the geoglyph itself. __Ancient Language__ was constructed similar to the Nepal works, by locals directed by Rogers, building up stone walls along his guidelines. This collaboration - the theme running through the entire series of works globally - during the creative process between the artist and community layers meaning and context within the work, much like the layers of stone that are built by many hands to create the geoglyphs in __The Rhythms of Life__.

References EBONY, DAVID. "EARTHLY HOMAGE. (Cover story)." Art in America 97, no. 9 (October 2009): 107-111.

Heartney, Eleanor. Andrew Rogers: geoglyphs, rhythms of life. Milano: Charta, 2009.

Sculptures by Andrew Rogers." Sculptures by Andrew Rogers. http://andrewrogers.org (accessed March 17, 2011).

Images [|Knot - Andrew Rogers]

[|Ancient Language - Andrew Rogers]