Sunday 19 February 2012

Disappearing Landscape

A familiar landscape can disappear because of a range of factors. David Hockney has recently spoken out about the threat to the countryside by development and changes to planning regulations. But it isn't always man that threatens the natural environment, sometimes nature itself is the cause. Julian Perry's work tackles the issue of coastal erosion with depictions of floating trees and houses.
For generations artists have recorded the ongoing battle between the sea and the land. Joan Eardley's atmospheric paintings come from her own intimate knowledge of living in a small cottage on the wild northern coastline (below).
Natural decay can also cause the landscape to disappear. German artist Horst Janssen was fascinated with the textural qualities of old tree trunks and he produced a whole series of intricate etchings of this subject an example of which is below.
Man made landscapes can also disappear. The cityscape is constantly changing, old buildings being renovated or replaced by new. War artist John Piper recorded the results of bomb damage on British cities. One of his best known paintings is of Coventry Cathedral in November 1940.

Through her reworked photographs (above) and her sculpture (below), Rachel Whiteread has explored the idea of ghost buildings. She filled a house that was about to be demolished with concrete to preserve the inside even when the outside was gone.
Another interpretation of 'Disappearing Landscape' could be that of mist or fog. In Adolphe Valette's views of Manchester (one example is below), the pollution from thousands of factory and mill chimneys created a thick smog.

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