On Walter De Maria: The Problem of Representing His Naoshima Works

Many of Walter De Maria’s works—particularly the larger installations and remote works of land art—are grounded in a cinematic, interactive tradition, demanding a high level of engagement from the viewer. This alters not... [ view full abstract ]

Many of Walter De Maria’s works—particularly the larger installations and remote works of land art—are grounded in a cinematic, interactive tradition, demanding a high level of engagement from the viewer. This alters not only the way we understand his artworks as autonomous objects but also the role of the spectator, casting the viewer more as an active participant than passive bystander. De Maria’s deft employment of, and emphasis on, an art viewing that is inherently durational, with time demanded on the part of the viewer as a necessary ingredient to the experience of the work, reads differently when documented through a still photographic image. The very remoteness, which at once enables the time element of De Maria’s work, paradoxically ensures that the vast majority of the viewing public will only ever gain access to the artwork through secondary photographs. With such an emphasis placed on the duration of viewing the work and the reinforced role of the active spectator, the photographs could be read as empty shadows of the physical installation; there is an inherent imbalance between the fixed, instantaneous representation of a photograph and the extended time De Maria emphasizes as elemental to his pieces. Examining his installations on Naoshima Island, I will aim to explore this cinematic quality as a residue of the Minimalist tradition and discuss the tension between a time-based work of art and its photographic representation.