Artists inspired by landscapes don’t just make drawings or paintings in response to their subject, but also make work that can be described as ‘3D’, ‘installation art’ and ‘land art’.
Lita Albuquerque is a landscape artist who works in and with different environments; adding her own sculptures, objects, colours and even people to create new, surreal landscapes.
As Lita Albuquerque works with different outdoor settings to create art. She can be described as a sculptor, painter, installation, light, space and environmental artist!
Albuquerque has created a lot of artworks outside, including one in the Californian desert using pigments (chemicals that give paint their colour) to make shapes and designs on the floor.
What do you think the artist was interested in when she made this piece of work? Shape, colour, space, line, form, texture?
Artwork made outside is usually described as ‘site-specific‘ because it would or could not be made anywhere else. Work that is site-specific can sometimes be ephemeral, which means it won’t last forever.
Landscape art by Lita Albuquerque is often described as ephemeral, since it is made from materials that can blow away or be washed away by rain.
Albuquerque created a famous art installation near the pyramids of Giza in Egypt called Sol Star. The artist drew 99 giant (different sized) circles on the ground and filled them with blue pigment. The circles were drawn to line up with stars directly above them in the sky, and the size depended on the brightness of each star.
How would you describe this landscape artwork?
As well as landscape art, Lita Albuquerque makes videos, paintings, drawings and sculptures often inspired by landscapes here on Earth, and the landscape of the stars above.
What do you think of these dynamic landscape artworks? Let me know in the comments.
DOWNLOAD this page below, for free, as an Artist Research handout to use in your lesson. It includes all of the facts and images, and has questions for students to answer.
The Art Teacher 