ROBERT SMITHSON: THE COLLECTED WRITINGS
EDITED BY JACK FLAM
UNIVERSITY
8~lcy
OF CALIFORNIA
l.os A!l~'c$
PRESS
lond:>n
FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED AND THE DIALECTICAL LANDSCAPE
( 1973)
to
seen ." He
Sn'"
'eo aod said."
lrnngine Y(lUl'ldf 111 Central Pal:" one million )'C31'$ JSo. You would be stan.hng n J V;lSt H-~ ,hc.:ct,.1 4.000 mile ~(ul wall.as much as 2.000 f(,~t duck. Alone on the ""-.Ut glucier. you would
1'<)\
sense II, ~Io\\'
movement as it advanced '<Huh, Ic<lving gll".,t
uslnng. scraping. nppmg ll\,;hM:~ of rock debri .. in its wake, CI
ndci the trozcu depths. when: the carousel IIm\ ...t:md~.)'<)tI would 1I11!IH ctlccr on the bedrock JS the glacier dr.lggc:d ll,dr ~Iong.
lin .. the
Bad: III the 185():'. Frederic]; Law Ohnsecd .m" Calvc« v'1\lX considered th;at !!1<1~·i.l1 Jftcrlll;}th .tl<.mg irs g<.'Olo~iral pwfile( I'hc building of ~C'\'l York City h~d interrupted th~ poudcrou- IX·,,,It~of those Pll'i~«)~'eilc JC(' sheets, Ohusted
and V:IUX srudred the ,itc topOgT.lphy for their J." In r.IWIISI~~lrd 1'11',4'11(1.11;"" s.~~ulr~\~,5 we
'·GfI."~·JlS'v:l1
pnljl()'St"ti
pnrk called ph IItCl-
see .1"before"
~'1';!ph 0[ the sitl' they would rem.rkc in terms of e.u th M·ulpmrc. lr ~emllld> me of [he $lril"'lIIil1m~ regions I >;lW 1:I~t year in southcaoern Ohio, This f.ulc:d photograph reveals thar Mauhatt.ru l-l.md onrc h..d A desert on il-~ 111;\"made \v.I~tdal1d. Irecle«
and harren.
It
evokes
of a~I\('~" in I~ Scott Fillgcr,lkl's 'lh« emit
Ihe
Co11f.1')'
observations
of "tho: valley
(192.s.). "when: ashes ~ro\V
like whe.it uno ridgL~ "lid hills and !4Wtl'S'I111;!!~rdens." Olmsted. "the s>·lv.lIIarnsr," yealllcd fin the color .'~II·t·JI .H ··".ltlITt'·S umve: '\al robe" (sec J:auw~ Thomson. 'J II, Sr,WII$. 1718) and the "Sharawndgi" p"I'k< of I~ngbnd.' He wanted the :lS>·III1I1Clric.t1 landscape- (If Uved.dc PI'I(e in the
Huddle of urban flux. [nco Brooklyn he would bl iug "the luxuriance
u(tr(lpi-
cal scellery ... g.ly with /lower.-; and uuricutc \vi.h vines and creepers, ferns. rushes. and bro.id leaved pbn~." This is like h:1ving .m orchid ~lIllen ill ,. <ted mill. or ;1 f.trtnry where pahu trees would he IiI b>' ibe fin" ofhla~l l'ilrtu\:es. III
companson to Thoreaus mental l'()III1J1Sts ("'X(;I)c\(:n Pond became .1 vmall ocean"}. O)m'tt'<i\ pll)"I(-'1 conrrnxu brouglu .1 Jdfe!I'It)llian rural reality inru Ih.: mctropohs, OIII1~lcd made ponds, he didn't just conceptualize about thcru. The origms ofOllll~tl'd's view of landscape are to he! l(lIlIlO in rSrh-cenrury England, parucularlv
111
the theories of Li\'l"<lalc Price :tud \Villialll
Gilpm.
Price extended Ednum.l Burke's /rltJlII'1' /III" IIII' ()I/:~III <1f Our Icf(.ll 4 t/tr S"b(j/ll( 11,(, &1I111!'/1I1 (t757) to.1 point lIUt rned to ti,<'c landscaping fWIII the "picture" ~rdl'n~ 01 ltnlv 111(0 ~ IlIU" .. ohysJ(JJ ~c!II't: ul the rcmporal bndl.(';tpe.,10\
and
tree, for ex.unplc, struck by lighlnill~ W:1SsQIllc:thing other than merely bcaunlui (If subhrue+-r \\',b "picrurev.juc," This word III il"<(lWU wav has been Mrufk hy li!tl1tnill~ over th". centuries. 'X/()l\I~,like trees.
{'Jt1
be <mldl.'1l1y deformed or
wn'('h·d. bur such ddorm.ltion or wreck.igc c.muot be {1J'11l1S~t:Ob}' tinud .10 demie». PI icc S('C111' to haw accepted .I ~idc' uf nature tll.lt the "formahsrs" of hl\ lilm', would rather have excluded. Sonrc of our prcsent-d.iy ('\ ologisrs. who :.1111 xce nature thrcml!h e\'t:~ condiby ~ oue-ssdcd :de.lhml. ,l:uuld consider the lu110\\,1Il~ quote 1I'<lIIl Pncc
I!OIlNI
l'he ~ic!t:()f :1smooth green hill, lorn by fln(lct~, IIlay at first ,"cry properly he l.,lIcd detorrncd, ;lIlJ on rhe <.lIne pi inciplc, though not with the ~JIIlC' IInprC~(1()II, as .l !}lsh on .1 h\'ill~ Jnil113J. \VhO;:I141 rawness of '111.h a p~h III the gruuud is sofieued ..... d in pJrt (oncealed and orn.uucntcd by the dlctb of ume. ,Iml the pl()~rcss of ,·e~ct.mon,dc:lilrrnlly. by rlns u<\I;11 process. IS converted into picturesqueness: .lIId Ihi~i~the case wuh quurrrcs. ~IVc:l pi!:>,ctc., wlnc h at first .lI'C dd()llIIitics. ,1I1d wlurh III their 111m! pi~ turesquc ,tatc, .WI."ofien considered .lS such bY:1 Ic\'\:Uing nnprowr. Iluv«
And ficull Wilham
T:1Ml}'.< II" 1111' Pi(lII/l'Yqllt.
(;111'111', ()i,.'f'mlliI1/l~~"""IL~' I,)
Jl'i(lllf<~'qi/"
Rl'rlllt)'
I S 10
(I iSC):" A
piece C1f Palladian arrhnecturc may be degallt in the last degree, hUl 11we Ulrroduce II ill a picture It immediately b::nllll<,\ :t fill mal Ol~lC:CI.md t"1.'.lSCS ro ;>IcJSt':' Price .l11d Gllplll
were. li)r Olmsted.
views he esreerucd ..,() much
I110Te
"professioual
rouchstones,"
\\'II(I~e
dUll any published ...ince, as srimulanug
Ihe
cxcrc isc ofJudgl1h'lIt in maucrs of Illy :lft, th.lt Iput (hem into the hands of Ill) pupil> .tS soon <l\ I"~y come into our ollic·e. ~ying. 'Y()U .lI'(' tel read these seri ouxly, .l> a student <1f141Wwould n'.ld 8l:1('btUI1C:" Inherent in the theor ics of Price <l1l:1 Gilpin, and m Olm~tecl'~ response ro them. arc the beguunug- (If :t dialccnc of the landscape . .Burke·~ notion of "bcaunful" .uul "sublime" flIlH·t:lH\~ .)S ,\ 11/("";5 of vmoothncss. gc:m1c ('Ul \ICS. and dchcacy of nature, and
.I~ an
,1/I1;t/t('j'S of terror, ~Hltt\ldc. and
VJ~U1t"<~of
n:a-
both (If whit h arc rooted 1I1 the 1'<.':11world. f:1lhct than in J ~kgcli~1I Ideal." Pnce ,\lid Gilprn provide ~ iy/lllJl~i5 with their formulation of the "pic-
lure,
turvsquc."
wluch i< UII close cxanunnrion
material ordet of nature
related ro chance .md change
The conrradicnons
111
the
uf the "P1CtllR'(<!UC" depart from
a stntic f(lnn:t1i,tlC VIew of nature. The picturesque. (.It frum being nn mner mOVC!I1I~nt of the nund.is based on real land; it pl'C('('(k~ the mind in its mater.:.1 external existence. \Vc cannot take :I one ,sid~'d \'II!W of the landscape withm tills dialectic. A rk C:1Il no IUllgc'r be ~een :Ilo .. ~ rlnng-m-uself," but
r....
father as a process of on~()il1f. rclati(m~hip~ a:xi~tlllg III :1 physrcal region-s-the park becomes a "thing-for-us," A~ .\ result we are not hurled IIlCO rhc spiritualISUl of Thoreauian tl~U)Melldent:lh'IIl, or irs present day offipnt1S oi"model niSI fonnalism" nx)t(:c! in Knnr, Hegel .. uid h:htc. Price, (;ilpin, ;,ntl Ollll1tecl are f()I'CrUllllcr:< of :1 dialecncal ruatcriahsm applied tel the phy~i~:11 i:mdscapc.Dmlecucs of thi~ type: are a \\';lY of seeUlg (hin~ in a manIfold ()i rclarion». as isulah.'(1 objects, Nature for the dialccncian is i/tdiUl'IeltJ to all)' l'imml ideal. Tln« does not mean one is helpless hC{()I'C nature, hut r.tlllCT (hat n.\t\lrc·s HOI
conditions are unexpected.
like PI i('e'~ hill torn h)' rhe flood. In another sense
Olmsted's p:lrks cxi~t beti.m: l!tl-y ,m: finished, which means in facr (hey arc never finished: lh~y remain nlrricr1 of the unexpected and of contradiction on all levels of human activity.be It <()C'i~I,polmcal. or natural. An CX~1I11)leof ihis can be round
III
P.,H11Shl!p:ln!'!> excellent
book,
,Hlfll
ill th»
LAlIIMlpr:
I Ti~[Olmsted's] report proceeded (0 note th:ll Europe could nor be our model. We must have something better because it W:I~ fin :"1"phases of SGClecy."Thc opulent. he continued. should be 111duced to surround the park with villas, whidl were to he I!nj()ye:d :IS wdl as the erees by the humble folk, :-in(c: Ihl'Y "ddight 111 viewing maguificcnr and imp()~itll' 'tnlC·turc~." A kind of Amencan doublcralk 1'C('UllCiling \'ilb~ with democracy and prrvilcgc with society in t<elle~:11h.tl hq~llll. The maps. photographs, cxhibiuon Olmsted'~
:md dU(llIlIen(,
in c.ualogue form and rcccndy on
at the Whitllcy I'vlul.{'1I1U of American Art arc :IS much a p:llt of .11 t as the; art ito.a:lf The cat.rloguc's illustrative ponf()iiu hy Willi:lm
Alex, ~1I<l :In lllf(\r1I1:tti\l't' text by Ehzabcrh Barlow make IIIH' ,1\\,.. rc of th e ongOillg development of Central Park 3S :I dulccrical land« ,11'<:,I Hcrv the dc)('uanCillary power of the photograph discloses a SU(le>."iun changing land maMes witilin the;: park's hunts. The notion of the p;al k ..~ :1 s(;atle \!ntlly i~(lues-
or
eioned by the: cameras eye. The pOltf(J!w hrll\~ to mind rhlg:l Verrovs documentary montages. and ~lIf.ttl":ll' tl,al certain still photographs are related 10 the diak-ctks of film. For example, .' photngr.lph on page 78, Tuuue {'fIl~'(i 'If II Illr()J~f." Vi:>lll R1t(k.f.u 1i,IIIJr.'(Ti( R,~ad ."\'0 J at 79J1IStreet could be J. still (Will <l hYPOlhcl!l.t1 film by Vcrt()V nn {he building process of Ccnrral Park. Iu the photograpl.
there i~no evidence of the trees that would in the fllture screen
the sunken r()~c1w:ay from rhe park proper. The photugl:11'1a h:l~ tilc r:I\\'IIC:« of an ilHI.lllt nllt of the conriuuous growth ;lno couetruc tina of tilt: park. Jnd 111dicnres a break III counnuiry that serves to rt:infill~'c a SCIl~Cof trnnsformanon.
rather
than .mv j,()l.aled leJtl1laliun.
WI.' 'WIlle in lhis ph()IO!!r:lph
Ih<lt nal"r(,!'~
development i~~I()undcd in the dialccrical, :and not IIII.' mctaphy~i, .. 1. An example of;t IltL"1;Jph}'~i{;:" rendering of a "runnel" mar he seen in John M:a.,til\·~ mc:tl.Otillc, AI 'lit Brill!' (1' 0,,1<'( (ISJ.S). Born illln Engbnd's indusmal revolunou, M.min rr.lI1~btcd engmeermg efforrs into visions of cosmic doom. l le subsdrured .1 tunnel for Milton's bndgc in 1',!T,U{;SI' Lo«. and 111 so doing rctreated mro the metaphysical.' LIl tins mstancc the more dialccncal aspect of the picturesque is shrouded III a scntuucnral ~OoUl that h.1S its origill~ III rhc Punran religion, Modern day ecologists wuh :I metaphysical turn of Inintl srill sec the OPCI.alioIlX of inciulo1ry a' Sat;m'~ wurk. The ill1:\!!C' of the Inst par:,di<c g;1I1;ien 1c:1V'C" ()III,; without 41solid t!i:a1e(:tl~. :md c.,uU'S one to ,"fl~r.m ecologleal dcxp..ir. Nature, like .l person, i~not one-sided. Another r.'('tor en nore I~ that OII1\~t..'(r< eunuel ~< in the: ~:II world, wherenx i\ll:trtm', i~.1 prctorial "'/111" itJr(III;ll/I Je;:n\'cd nlll)' !TOIII the mind. Olmsted's VtC\\' of the landscape W.lS 10M sight of around till' first part of tins century. whar wirh rhc rise of the "anndcmocraric inrclligcnrsia" rhat included W)'J1dh,lIu Lewis. Ezl.l Pound. T. S. Ehot. and T. E. Hulme.' Althllu~h Puund and Llior did maintain traces of the picturesque in their pm:tl v, lhl') ihcructi('.)II)' scorned it. "Over the rumbled ~1~IVI", .1I)(HIt the chapel." wrote Eliut in Thr j'iitm'
O<!mlt;I
to"<!
[~I/JII, .. Then-
i~the C:lllpt)' (·h:lpd. (lilly th~' wind\
G,t<!l'lw.\rO P'n ttS PhQ:OV>ph« >~
0' JUr>.IxICl'<! ~·imx(>on.18sa
iiom,-." 6Ul EllOt'~
picuncsquc "';IS a nO'l:tl~i:t tor church aurhorirv, It ceased (0 be the dcmocrali1_'t1i:lle('I:~ beewceu the '>yl\';m ..lit! the illdu~trial lh.lt (II it I.' ,Uld Olmsted worked toward. iU$t('ad (II()' ,tl~'~~l'(1 a lIl'U('\;I'<>lt.11lurl1l.1lisllI ••unl T. E. Hulme, who exerted grc.tt 1IIIhH'Il(;l' lIn ,dl three. W<l' dl.twn to the ".Ih~u.t~'t" phllm.o phr of \Vilhchll 'iXforl'inger. Aller'iXf()l<ld \V.11' 11. when 1~>('I>~i('lII()[i\'~'~ were revealed, V:lri(lu~ liberal cr iric moved ill to pick up dl{' pll.'(·~'--:IIII()lIg thcrn
Clement
Greenberg
outlook. I lere
11<, tned
IS Greenberg
to graft
.1
1~1I\::'f()rmah"lll
upstaging borh
LC\\'I~
to .1 nlny
M:trxm
ami Lhot:
Eliot 11." r.rlled \Xiymlham 1.1.'\\ i~"the ~lcatcSI prose 'lylhr 01 Iny gcneuuion perhaps the only OIIC (0 have invented l IIC\\' v.ylc." I lintl tim c:\at<~cl.IlCll. hu; I'Vt:II it it were nor.Lewis would <,till have t'.ml too d('arlv for IIII.' <li,tim tion. Clenl<'llt (;I('l'lIbl'I'g, "\Vyndh:lln r ~\\'i, A~inM Ah'<lr:I('l Art,"
.
.
..(" .m.{ ell/flm',
Tin, i~ .I ~nurt ligltt
(HI
W ~lIh'\lIII{'
\\~I}t
My tt-din!!
"absrrscnon,"
AU'WII,
.1II1hurit),. hut till' fC~1C)f l~ til;lt
rhey
till .. '
I ~(i I
nreiclc ,Iwd~
110
bo,u
,III 11l1(\Cd the:
to France, J sense of the picturesque results 10 Paul (A-z:tnn(."s l1iM11//($ QU.III)' (J ~IJ S). but his direct cncou ntcrs wuh rhc landscape were soon to be replaced by .l scudio-bascd formalrsm and cubisnc rcducnonism wlurh would lead (0 Ollf present day 1I1SIPId nouons Of"tl.Ulll'SS" and "lvrical absrmcnon."Thc ~ner.ll dirccrion ot this rcndcncy begins in I,q when r. 1:.llulll1e, 'Iurnmg
"Mm!ctl\ Art :111\1 Philmophy:' ~Ih oIhollt te<ltll iug IIcn nm~ ~- Rq)re).'l:tH.HHllhof··l.tl'lp~~" h ..... ·;II11... the lugll'AI ourcome IC<ltlrill!(
()II
to
Ally (h<('u~~i(lIIconcerrnng
1II(lr.~lllllplk.ltlOI1\.
Once
.1
1I:lture:md nrr l\ bound til be ,hm through with srudenr wid me th:at "nature 1~ :mytillng th~t .( not
manmade," 1'01' rhat srudenr man was outside (he natural order of dungs. LIl Wilhelm \Vol'I'ingers .~Ltstr.1(/itttJ m,d Elllp,ft/,y (1908),
WI:'
arc told that Byzan-
unc and c~nHi:lnart were created Out or a P...ychological need 10 e$Capc nalure. :uw that ...im,c the Rctlais..,;'llllC OUI Ulldelllt;HlJitl~ 01 \tll h :lIt has been d\Juded
b~' :111 IIlltlU1: ('unlldellt1:
ah\tl~tni()11 outside the
Inlln;uli~m
M:lbU()\I~
ill nature.
\Vurriu~t:' luc.oICe'
anrhwp()lIlOrphi(
p:lIltlll'islll
"The prim:!1 ;lrustic impulse," :-")' \Vorrlllg(f,
It., "concept"
uf
l)1 RCIl;ai~>al\('c
"hns Ilmhlllg
to dll
WIth the rendermgs of nature." Yet, throughout Ins book he refers to "crysralhne forms of inanimate matter," Geometry smkes me as a "rendenug" of manimarc matter. Wh.u arc the lattices and grids of PUI'(' absrracnon. If nor renderings and representations of a reduced order of nature? Abstraction IS a representation 01 nature devoid of "realism" based on mental 01 conceptual reducuon. There i'i no (',('aping nature limmgh alml.t(f rcprescnturiou: ah>tl~l( (i()II hrillt:" Ulll" dm~r W phr,i(".1t 't""Clme~ within
nol
IIll'.'1I
:1 renewed
Ill) ~,IIISl' for I:'ith.
AI)((T:IC'l1<l1l
natlll"
it ~illlply
ib"';\f. Bllt thi~
<~I~"
th:1I .th"tI'~C1i(ll' i~ 011 only lit' \~tlid ifit :In:cpts 1I:ltlll\!\ dialeceic.
('clIlfi(!"nro: in narurc,
IIIc,ms
In Till" New l(1I'~'/'ill/a (Sunduv, M.IT\'h u. 1()7~) Gr.ICO: GII1I!~'k \ column h.l~ a headline. "Arnsr-m-Rcsidcnce for Mother L.lrth." ami .1 photogr.lph or ,\bn Cussow captioned "/\ son of spmrual C3TCt:lKa:' RI.',1(hng the arnrle. one di~covers \\ hal nuplu be: called an Llol~ICJI Oedipus Complex. Penetr.umn (If "MUfhel F.:llf"" becomes ;1 projection of (he mccsr taboo OIltO nature. In Theodore Th;l\~ Thil;rt(·III.1I1I1·$ :>lK)k, Till Srril(t"/,)I'I,lm i.s1I~~II~I'. we lInd :l quote
IrUln :1(';1t.1tOlltl; M.'hii'()phrclli~:
"They should Slup di~lIl~
(IW\\,
shout-
m~ I'l!lul.mtly 1II r.l~c) dowu lH'llCk lh~' (':II iiI to c1r;,\\ II\C:(."~ mIL uf ii.Th:tl'~ dl~mg (I(\\\'/I 1I1to f\'lmhcr E:lrth :IIltII.lking \hill~ th.,l ~11C)1I1c!/I'tbe taken." $1l110Ile d;: tk.luvmr h:l~ wruren III TIll :\,y,,"d .~..x, "Acv.'hylm sap <If Oedipus rhar he 'dared to seed the sacred furrow where he
\V.I~
tilnnl'd:" Alnn
(;us..~o\\' in Tlu: New )'t,rk Times projects onto "earth works ,m:m" all Octlip"$ Complc« hUI'1I out ul :t \\ i,hy-\\'.\Sh~ rransccudcntalrsm. Indulging in spirrual 1~lIla~)'. he sa", of reprcscmational landscape painters in his book A Scn«
...r
,'m{ IIII' Alllt'tI(,W L/md. published b) Frtcn~ of the Larrh: "\Vlut lhc\t' .Ini~l'dC! i..make these .}I:,('~'~vuiblc. conunumrarc tht'il ,pIt It nul like Pit/It': AlII~"
rhe earth work'
ar"'t~ whn ('ut :md ~()lIg~' tilt,; bud
Ilk,'
AmI}'
t·Uttlllet't\.
What's needed <IreIym' pOC(!' to celebmte it ". Gussow's projection of the" Army en1!lII~r," <HI \\'It~t h~' IIn:l~inc\ ro he "earth works arusrs" (CI.'I11~ Iinked f<l lnv own vexual fc!ar,. A" P-,ul Shcp:tf(1 in his ,\'/d/llll ,hi' iJrnd',{lIpt pomts our. "Those (Jrlllyl engmeers veem to he :1( t~IC opp(),itt: extreme !i'om esthetes who atrcmpr to cehcrcahze their sexuahry. Ye«, the elIltlllccn' :aut hili il\ .1Ild dominance OWl' !:'md carrrcs the force of s.<.·~'1IJI .lgglC'.~i()II-.md pCtll".)~ rhe ~uilt :b \\'~11." An C'lhl'r(·ali:r.cct rqHl·<ellf,ltiulI.,1 altht such ;b Gussow (he docs mediocre Imprc« ..i()lIi~lH p<llllling-<) !:Iii, ttl nx ol,tllizl' the pCl~!-ibilif> of .1 direct orgamc ()f ~hc 1..,,,<1 devoid of vioicnc« :and "mac ho" a~n.·~>i()Jl. s'pil itualuuunpulatinu Ism widenv the <plat berween m:m .uul n.uurc, Tho: f:lrlllcr'~, lIIillt·r·~. l)l "I'li,t'~
treauncnt
till' land der~ll\l~
(It
on how
;lW.lIIC
Yo'Xt'/l't ~II :1'('rl~~ of r.lp::\. The: farmer ('ithl'l
it ()I dcvust.uc
culnvue
If ,'np
'v.:n· \C"
nnncrs
sexuul .'~~Iession. cliff d\Vdlin~
alienated
('lIlu\',llioll
One
, carthwcrk till'
nud-
Ih"'l1
would
try to make
JIl' .1
ii' lhl'l1l~ln~
of
in Iyl ic
the lnurl.
.md tree uf
SCp.lI'.H\·
.111rrom
n.I"IIC. And
OIW
Olmwed.
Perhaps.
horse-cart
Ii Ct~o\v
had lived III
that Ohll<l~'d \\ rit<.' "ryri,· po-
S\l~~<l("ll
t"~,type who
lIukL' or AI11C'rir:l" first
loads of <!.Irch 10
would
c!i.aIt:Cli< between
lather
make Cenrml
Il'IrI'd't() sccruc hCAut)'
IlJlUlX' .1CHt people. ~urh
.m
sclf-nglncousncss and pretends ro be ~iI\'tn~ fh~ ot the re.rl, hut ruther, J iPlflllUi snob. Tim kind 01 splrltu.liit)· mentioned ill the preceding p,lI',l!!r,'ph~ \, whar Rollo M.ty III Power (11111 [Il/IOIc'II(t' (JIl, ..p'<l.'udomnon·Ilt'l' ... wlnch can only
:tIOSt
surrounds lumselt'
culrivarion
take place. Whl'lI one look« al the Inch.m
hnvc
concrete
all.
Ohio .:
1IIU\'lIlg ten million
PAlk. Arusrs like (;U\)o\\' sp..,lt\
1Il
-Frccleru k l.a\\
J 9th ('~'llImy, he
etry" mstead t)f
direcr
,h~ likes of Gu~<()W would
what
.Irtl~!'·
nature ()IWl-' removed
S.1I1W :I~
in Me"-'t Verde, one Cllllm!
\\'(mdc~
llJtun·;.altcl
or ~'II1tlnccr who ('ut" into tilt' bne! can
If(ml the nature
would
call't tO~t·t the Indian mouuds
ofililmdf;l~
IS
it. Rcpresenriug
and IJlld~l"IW pamnng " nUL {he
poerrv
he
landscape,
wuh
This !S not ~lIlg
.111ccologi«
.md Ihcudo.ut 1\1;'1)' ~re.lks of an " .. , insulario» hom in the world."!' The ,llltht:Il11( ,Utl<t C':lIt1lot turn hI' hack on the t'()I1t1·.. dintOllS {h.1I IIIh:thll our t.lncl\,.apc5. Ulm<t<'d himself \\ ...t~ Ijlll ('II conrr.ulic lead £0 pseudospuuuahrv lh(' evil
t:t)JI~: lor mst.mre, whole
he wrote
aspect of tIn' counrry
hi, wite his rcncnon I~
d,'I'·$lablc."
In the Clhl(lrni.a desert. "the
III tlw Ili6,: photograph water' 'y~l-:III f<)r dr,mun!!
It Il> inreresung to sec.'the arrested consu uctiou of a and filling .1 Central Park lake five.' ~UIl"CII pipes,
gmdc: lines. half-formed walls. dirt roads. and gcncial rubble. All of the I'U\ltth, ness or" the process I iscs OUI of the p;1I~\ catlicl coudiiio». :\, F.li:t.;1hclh Barlow indicates, "1 he poliucal qU:l~mlle ",a, matl hcd h)' llll' .lpp~:lr:lIln· clf tilt' park itself, which \\J.S I ublush-strewn. deep in mud, lilk-d wuh T\'~'<:lltly \~lclt~1 hutv, .!IId oveu un with ~uah It:li he-hind hy t1w 'qll.tlter'
squaucrs'
Ulltal they
were l'VClllU.III~ illll'ClIlIldl"I, till: r.uup.me gcut- wen: •• gre.rt mnsance. canng thr fi)li .•µc elf the park', few trees," All of this IS P;ll'[ of the park's dulccnc. l.()nkmg
Illl
rhe 11.lWn: of the park. or ItS history and OUI pcrccprion-
or it,
first pre ..clued with an endless maze 01 relations "lid inrcrxonucctior». which nothing remains wh.n Ot where il h, as ..-thin~-ir"c1f. hut the "'}IUI(' park changes like day and mghr. In and out. dark .sud lighr-.& l.ard\llIy de-
WI." .IT\' 111
signed dump of hushes can also be .llll1l~Cr'" hideout.The n':lMlU th~' P<)(I!I1rial dialectic inherent in rhe pic·turcl.<.\uc broke down wav because natural pJ(l('c~~c> wer« viewed
III i~()I:l\i"n .I~ '0 m;IlI~'(b"~JfiC'.'Inol1s, detached from ph)'\i('al imercounccrio», ,lit.) lill.lll~ replaced by mental represcnrauons of .i finished :th<Cllllt<: Idl:,l\. Bihous books like Ihc Gr(wju.~ of Ameu« present one
wirh
.1
nonon
Of"{'OIlSCIOUSllCSS"
without substance. Central
P;ll)..
1.> .l ~Imliid
work of neccssirv and chance .. \ range of cOlllra~1ill~ viewpoints th.lt are forever Iluctuanng, ycr solidly based In the canh. Uy expanding OUI dialectic outvnle 01 Central Park tel Ymenllt~· Nanonal Park. we gain lIl5!ghl into the development u()mth p.lrk ..itn hdilTI." tht,:y were turned into "parks."The vitc Uf<:l.'lItl:tI Park \\'~< the result of"nrh:lIl bhghf"(. ~ lit dnwn hy the l'.,rl} \('nlt'f' without .my thought of the future. SUl.'h ~ ~itc could be rc;('\.liml;'(1 hy direct e.urh-movuig wuhour (~Jr of upset-
It{'c~ \WI
nWII
the ccologv. My own experience I~ thJt the best SHC'S for "earth an" are til:l( have been dixrnpted by mdusrry, reckless urbanization. 01 uarure v dc:v.ISt:ltlOI1. lor IIlSt,lIlCC, '/1,(' Spir,I/./('(I)' rs built in a dead sea, ;1I111
'11'f
Hr.».:(11 Cirdr and
tlllg
<itc"
vared
or
recycled as
tfll/10 a working sand qual'l v, Such land is culriOn the other hand. when Ohu-tcd vi-ned Yosemiec it
SJ~ml
art.
existed
:l\ J.
"wilderne«."
There's no pomr
III
rery, lmg wilderness the way
C':l1tl.ll P:II k ,"";11 recycled. Om' m'~d not unprove Yosemu« •. 111 line needs IS to provide .,nc" routes and Jl'C'011l11ICHbtimh, Uur this dec:n-;a\(', rh(' ill i!:in:ll dcfmrnon of ",ildl'IIIC,' .U J place tll.lt O.i<l!> without human II1vf)lv~·III(·IIt. Today,
YOSC:lIl1to;' is mun:
like
.\11
urbanized
wildcme-s
with
J[S
deC"ln,',,1 ourleu
lor
camper- .. mel it:. ~ loihes lines hung beewccn lhl' pines. There IS nm much mum lor conreruplatiou in soluudc, The new lI.ltmn:t1 parks like rhe ~\'<:rgb(lc~ .md the Dmosaur N.llmll:tl Monument are more ·'.1h~II.ll1" and lack the "pic" uucsqucncss" of Y()-.(;'lIIill.' .Uld Yellowstone. III 1!!:1Il)' w':IY' {he morv humble 01' even dl!'gr,ltkd ~i(c~ left in rhe wake Clf lIIinlllft opcranons offi:r more uf:1 challenge to .irt, ;utd .. ~re.Hcr posnbihry fi)r
I~in~ ill sohrude. lmpouug <'Iilt\ and urumproved IIIt'\.lS (mild just :1S well be lef alom t, Bur .I~ the nanon's '\'no,::g)' (I isie" mounts. <lid, pl.ln'~\\,111cvcntuJUy be milled.
S()IIIC
5. 5 nulhon- of
"0"\'$.
an .rrea the size of N~'\\' l lmnp ..lure,
JS currently hcilllt boughr up In North n..kot.r, \Vyollung. md Monlana h>' nurung r()lIIp:lIl1l'" "I clunk," SJ.Y!' Il1t('fI()J' SC:lIclary Rogers MmtOIl (.\'nt·."
wak. Ocrober 9. (971). "we can set the <ull<brd lUI .1 new muune erhi« -o lIuc rhe deep S<,',II11\ ('.111 hI." nuncd and closely 1{)\I()\wd bv ,UI cnvironmem pre)· i<tam rhar IS compsublc (·,thclIc:llly and With proper l.nul 1I~." One can <.ml~ wonder what his nnlum of "t"(ltc~ics" IS. l'hl.' pr~n'(kllh ~i:t hy Olmsted ..hould he sunhcd by both lIIilll'I'" IIId ecoloprsts
Returmng t<l Yellowstone. whn h celebrated irs centennial h~t YC;II. WI: see a ccmbming of E\lr()p~'< "imoxic.uion with nuns" with Alii er i(,;1 \ lIewly dbcovered "natural ruins" ~t tl1(' orrgin of the park's development. David E. Fol som. a wealthy rancher. who viewx-d YcIlU"'~toIIC huge rock
lh,l[
bon' resemblance to
.111 old l.l,tlC:
111 tg69.
wrote
HI
111~<iI:IrY"J,
rampart aud bulwark wen;
slowlr >'icldin~ (0 (he ravages of mue, hUI till: uid turret srood out 111 bold relief :lg;lill$l tilt: "b. y." As Paul Shepard h~, pointed out. John Ruskin never VlSired Amerir« hl:l'3USI' it lacked castles. ~t"Wl'lhd('~~ "Curle Rock" has become J, llama: for m:llly 1I:&I\II.tIformauons rhroughoue rhe \Vc,(. kinds of r,w,,!_!c). Olmsted W.lS In a document privately printed in t~S, <'alll'd '/1U' Spoils (~fllll~ Hllk: ll';III .1F,'II' I.ml'l·.\.fooJII Dt'cp-Iadm N(lr"-~III~",!r"A ~H",f[r Ncw York
11)
till'
'~7~ yielded to different
dismissed ii'om his job in
'S7.1
l.iuJ>f,Tfli(d' .Hdll," WI:' ~ct ,I ~liIllPH' of Ohu-tcd's contlicrs wrrh City pClhtlr,.' Unde: Boss Tweed the P.lrl: Dcparnncut dctcrroratcd 1I1to ~ shal\1h!~~~.llung with
>C'I'iumunemployment.
violent I.,h<lr pl(ltl.:~b• .Iud Itn:1nCl.)1 panic.
~4"~lItg
Ollll~l~d to WIire III 1877 that New Yorl.. \'I~y wa~ "csseutinllv under martial law" rile Park f)l"\};II~IIlCUl "";11 ,1tSO being mrned nuo :1 '<Ki.11 wcllarc agency: in Olm<tt'd'~ words lhl' I}al~ Department h,ld h":I<HHC "au nxvlum lor ,l~r,'vared ('a~, of hc:ni.l.
\'AIIlOSC
vcrns. rhcumausm,
infirmities compclhng
~~·"~·IIt.lrymC'ui':Il1oll<'."
p:lrti.11hlm.lm""
.md other
\Vhcll Chark« Ehot Norton sard of' him ()IIIl~lC"d). t(w:.m.ls the close ufhi~ ~an.·c.:r.th<lf of .,11American .Irtbts he <tood "first III the pi oductio» of grv;tt works which ,HlS\\,t_"1 tIll' IIC;:l'd, .uui ~Ive (':"\:pr(:).,'..ron to the hf(' of OUI' IIlIl11Clh(' .\It'd lIIi~l'dhneOllS democracy" he did not C:"\:Jg~CI~Hc 01tlbtcd·:-. intluence. Lewis M umford. '111(' lJI4li111 Df(tTlJ,·( F.nt~rlllg the park at 96th StlTCI and Central Park \Ve<.t. I walked south al()l1g the western side of the reservoir on J bndle path. The IIppC"rp:lrt of till'
p;,rk thar mcludc- Harlem M..:er, I he Great Hill. and The North (now filled \\'lIh h<111lidd~) WJS planned 101 1:I\CI';21 ;md horizontal
Meadow views: ill
Olmsted's words It should be "bold and sweeping" .H opposed to rhc 10WCI park's "hcrcrogcneous' character, One has the sell ..aliol) of bemg 1Il a sunken forest .lS well. A ~CI1~ of remoteness was ple,ellt
ill th1\ region.
'l'his §.CIUCof
ell~\llfincllt deepened as foliage ""gt!('~t(:d ehe harmonics. ronulieics, ;111(\ rllythl1\~ of Charles lvcs' IlHbic'- Tim',' Omtil!Qr Scenes. Cculillf P.lJk III N('illl, :llIcI 111l'
UW'I/'SII,'O't'.i
Q1I1'.)/i'lII, suluitled
A
(.(,lSPIIIC
UJlltf$(tlpl'. III parricui:lr.
At Bank Rock Urid~e 1> an entrance to The R:lIuh!e. 011 thc' hri(igc: -tood ;1 virusrer lookmg ChAr;t(h ..r, who looked hke the l),pt: witt) would rip Qff cameras, Quickly I \'allishcd mto The Ramble- .;1 t.allgled net of divergent paths. Just the day before I had been looking Jl stereopticon photos of how lhb place looked helc)I\' '900, before the vcgcearion Olnutcd planted bad ~I OWII up. At lh:lt time, rhe ~hll~ of The Lake ~till had the lon\: of a rock SlrCWH tjw\ny. Ohnsted ItOldwanted to plant "rhododcndrou», .mdromcdas. azaleas. kalmias,