Andy Goldsworthy
(British, b. 1956)
Prairie Cairn, 2001–02
Iowa limestone, dry-stone construction
65 x 56 inches
Located: Conard Environmental Research Area, Kellogg
As part of an installation that spanned the United States, Andy Goldsworthy constructed one of three temporary stone cairns in a reconstructed prairie at Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA) in March of 2001. The two other cairns were created in tidal zones near New Rochelle, New York, and Pigeon Point, California. Made at low tide, they were then photographed by Goldsworthy as the incoming waters destroyed the stone structures.
Prairie Cairn at CERA was completed before the prairie grass had begun to grow and was photographed over a period of 18 months to document the sculpture in varied weather conditions. The result is a suite of large-scale panoramic images, now in the collection of the Des Moines Art Center, showing the cairn with varying heights of grass, in snow, and amid flames as the prairie was subjected to a controlled maintenance burn in May of 2002. Although considered one of the temporary works, Prairie Cairn should last for decades before eventually succumbing to the effects of the weather. The cairn was constructed with limestone quarried in Iowa.
Prairie Cairn is part of a project initiated in 2001 by the Des Moines Art Center for Andy Goldsworthy: Three Cairns, then the largest project in the Western Hemisphere by the British artist. The project spans the continent with permanent and temporary stone markers called “cairns” at sites on the two coasts of America and the Midwest. Two key components of the project in Iowa are to be found within 50 miles of each other: Prairie Cairn (Midwest temporary cairn) near Kellogg, 12 miles west of Grinnell, and the Three Cairns (Iowa permanent cairn) at the Des Moines Art Center. Prairie Cairn was commissioned by the Des Moines Art Center in collaboration with the Faulconer Gallery and the Center for Prairie Studies at Grinnell College.
For more on the project, contact the Grinnell College Museum of Art.
About the Artist
Installation artist Andy Goldsworthy was born in Cheshire, England, in 1956. He completed his studies at Bradford College of Art (1974-75) and Preston Polytechnic (1975-78). Goldsworthy often creates temporary sculptures outdoors, but documents his work as it changes with its environment through photography. Goldsworthy’s work spans several continents: his work has been made in the Northern Territories of Canada, the North Pole, Japan, and the Australian Outback.