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In essence, Land Art is the creation of art within a landscape using materials found in nature. This natural, yet profound art form became well-known in the United States and elsewhere in the 1960s and 1970s. The creation of such art often requires heavy equipment and machinery, land purchase, and even legal disputes in many cases.

This revolutionary art form serves as a stark reminder of mankind's oneness with nature, and calls for greater environmental awareness. Additionally, unlike any other art form, Land Art is meant to decay, and degrade back into the landscape over time. Land Artists constantly vary both their surroundings and materials to reach their target audience and convey their message in a striking manner. Unconfined by the walls of museums and canvases, Land artists go where no artist has been before. Consequently, these artists reach hearts in a different manner than any of their predecessors.

The video above offers further explanation and introduction into this beautiful form of art.

https://artincontext.org/land-art/

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Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, Land Art's birth was sparked by the rise of environmental awareness. With industrialization raging in the United States due to scientific breakthroughs and the Vietnam war, many early Land Artists made their art works in protest against the unsustainable lifestyle that America was promoting. The war was requiring increased production efforts, and had most individuals in the United States on edge, to say the least. With plumes of fossil fuels being spewed into the sky each day, and smog levels rising, it was clear the Earth might be permanently altered if nothing changed.

The art these early Land Artists created served as a reminder of Earth's beauty, and our responsibility to preserve it. These artistic protests taught that as patrons of Earth, it is our duty to actively protect the landscape, as well as all the organisms which inhabit it. For these reasons, Land Art contains deep environmental significance and conveys a powerful message while also being visually pleasing.

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/glossary-terms/land-art

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With the Vietnam War raging and protests permeating news sources, the people of the United States searched for deeper meaning, answers, and purpose. Furthermore, the recession and inflation only added to the stresses and tensions experienced on American soil at this time. On top of it all, the Watergate scandal decimated what little confidence Americans had in political leaders.

All of these combining factors lead to concerns about the environment and sustainability as a whole. Artists, and Americans generally, began to lose confidence in the land of the free, and search elsewhere for peace and expression. Nature seemed less judgmental and combative that the rest of the world around them. Moving away from confining canvases and art exhibits, artists began to seek refuge by creating art in nature from natural resources. Land Art was thus derived from the tumultuous condition of the United States at this period in time.

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/11/na.html

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Christo was born in 1935 in Bulgaria. After leaving Bulgaria in 1956 Christo traveled around Europe seeking refuge from the war-stricken world, he ended up in Paris, France where he met his future wife, Jean-Claude. Becoming close friends and partners, they began making art work which stepped away from conventional ideas of painting and sculpture and ventured into the unknown. Amongst their most known works of art are: Wrapped Coast near Sydney (1968–69), Valley Curtain in Colorado (1970–72), Running Fence in California (1972–76), Surrounded Islands in Miami (1980–83).

The Running Fence project in California (pictured above) was a 42 month journey full of legal battles, physical labors, and rancher compliance. The fence was 18 feet high and extended for almost 25 miles. This breathtaking feat of art and construction broke through the barriers of the art world, and revolutionized art generally, as well as Land Art specifically.

https://christojeanneclaude.net/artworks/running-fence/

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Smithson was a young American man experiencing the tumultuous era of the Vietnam War. Miraculously surviving the war, Smithson went on to become a painter, but transitioned to sculpture after not too long. Gaining employment at an engineering firm in New York City, he began to create "Aerial art" which was meant to be viewed from an airplane during takeoffs and landings. Due to his experiences with this new art form which never gained traction, he was inspired to explore the untouched areas of wilderness in New Jersey. In these settings, enthralled by the vast wilderness around him, he began to construct what we now refer to as Land Art. It was then that he coined the term "Site" and "Nonsite" which refers to earth art pieces that could be put on display in an exhibit (Nonsite) and those that could only exist outside the walls of a display and only exist in nature (Site). Robert Smithson's art works explore the relationship between mankind and nature.

The Spiral Jetty is an example of Site Land Art created by Robert Smithson in the Great Salt Lake. Following it's curved path to the center, the observer is able to appreciate the path they endured, as well as the beautiful scenery in this beautiful part of the Earth.

https://www.theartstory.org/movement/earth-art/

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Growing up in Athens, Ohio to two Chinese parents who fled communist China, Maya went on to attend Yale University where she earned a degree in architecture. Her career was kickstarted when she crafted the wining design for the Vietnam Veteran's memorial in Washington D.C. during her senior year in college. Later in her life after designing many memorials, she resorted to her passions of science and landscape which led her to revolutionize Land Art.

This breathtaking work seeks to express the fluidity of water in grass. This project took months to complete, and seeks to emphasize the connection between art and landscape—similar to other Land Art pieces. After studying fluid dynamics for an extended period of time to better understand this artistic feat, she finished this project at the University of Michigan 1995. Maya Lin is one of the most notable female Land artists, and the countless art pieces she has created over the years not only commemorate our fallen soldier through memorials, but also the fundamental romance of humans and landscape.

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/lin-maya/#pnt_3

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Michael Heizer was born and raised in Berkeley, California in 1944. Without a doubt, Heizer's well known archeologist father sparked his interest in nature and history from an early age. Heizer attended the San Francisco Art Institute where he began to paint geometric pieces before moving to New York where he painted buildings. After moving out to the desert with his wife Barbara, the rural style of living directed him to take interest in Land Art. He went on to create beautiful pieces of Land Art, and believes that he is the one who started the movement.

One example of his work is the Munich Depression which is located in the outskirts of Munich, Germany, as the name suggests. Using bulldozers to craft this 16 foot deep crater, Heizer invited all people to descend into the pit to experience it fully. At the bottom of this pit, the observer can only see limitless sky on all sides, free of obstruction of any other structure. Without the horizon, the observer is disoriented, which teaches us to be thankful for the directing influences in our lives.  Like many Land artists, Heizer sought to teach and enlighten others through his Land Art.

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/heizer-michael/