The Lightning Field
Encyclopedia
The Lightning Field is a Land Art
work in Catron County, New Mexico
, by sculptor Walter De Maria
. It consists of 400 stainless steel
poles with solid, pointed tips, arranged in a rectangular 1 mile × 1 kilometre grid
array.
It was commissioned by Dia Art Foundation
, which also maintains the work. It can only be visited by making an advance reservation for an overnight stay in the simple accommodations at the site.
While the title and form of the work suggest that it is a frequent target for lightning
strikes, they are actually fairly infrequent.
The Lightning Field featured prominently in the novel Blinded by the Light by Morgan Hunt. This work might also have influenced the imagery of author Cormac McCarthy's epilogue in his book Blood Meridian.
It is also the subject of a 2011 New Yorker
article by Geoff Dyer
called Poles Apart.
Land art
Land art, Earthworks , or Earth art is an art movement which emerged in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, in which landscape and the work of art are inextricably linked...
work in Catron County, New Mexico
Catron County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*89.8% White*0.4% Black*2.7% Native American*0.2% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.1% Two or more races*3.7% Other races*19.0% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
, by sculptor Walter De Maria
Walter De Maria
-Early life and career:De Maria was born in Albany, California on October 1, 1935. He studied history and art at the University of California, Berkeley from 1953 to 1959. Although trained as a painter, De Maria soon turned to sculpture and began using other media...
. It consists of 400 stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
poles with solid, pointed tips, arranged in a rectangular 1 mile × 1 kilometre grid
Grid (spatial index)
In the context of a spatial index, a grid is a regular tessellation of a manifold or 2-D surface that divides it into a series of contiguous cells, which can then be assigned unique identifiers and used for spatial indexing purposes...
array.
It was commissioned by Dia Art Foundation
Dia Art Foundation
Dia Art Foundation is a non-profit organization that initiates, supports, presents, and preserves art projects. It was established in 1974 as the Lone Star Foundation by Philippa de Menil, the daughter of Houston arts patron Dominique de Menil and an heiress to the Schlumberger oil exploration...
, which also maintains the work. It can only be visited by making an advance reservation for an overnight stay in the simple accommodations at the site.
While the title and form of the work suggest that it is a frequent target for lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
strikes, they are actually fairly infrequent.
The Lightning Field featured prominently in the novel Blinded by the Light by Morgan Hunt. This work might also have influenced the imagery of author Cormac McCarthy's epilogue in his book Blood Meridian.
It is also the subject of a 2011 New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
article by Geoff Dyer
Geoff Dyer
Geoff Dyer is a British author and novelist. He is also a journalist who writes about a wide range of topics. His published work includes four novels and several books of non-fiction, which have won a number of literary awards...
called Poles Apart.