Walter De Marias Lightning Field (1977), one of the twentieth centurys most significant works of art, is situated in a remote area in western New Mexico. It comprises four hundred polished stainless-steel poles (spaced 220 feet apart) installed in a grid measuring one mile by one kilometer. Critic Kenneth Baker visited The Lightning Field numerous times over the course of the past thirty years. Inspired and challenged by this remarkable artwork, Baker speculates in this book on the course of our contemporary human condition. He weaves citations and elegantly crafted prosein a metaphorical parallel to De Marias choreographing of the vast landscape of the American Southwestto create a compelling and moving text.
Walter De Marias Lightning Field (1977), one of the twentieth centurys most significant works of art, is situated in a remote area in western New Mexico. It comprises four hundred polished stainless-steel poles (spaced 220 feet apart) installed in a grid measuring one mile by one kilometer. Critic Kenneth Baker visited The Lightning Field numerous times over the course of the past thirty years. Inspired and challenged by this remarkable artwork, Baker speculates in this book on the course of our contemporary human condition. He weaves citations and elegantly crafted prosein a metaphorical parallel to De Marias choreographing of the vast landscape of the American Southwestto create a compelling and moving text.