ALAN SONFIST
Corings 1971-2012
Alan Sonfist Corings
EARTH AS A MONUMENT introduction
T
hese geological artworks use technology to expose the hidden dialogue of the earth. Each one of the drillings reveals the dynamic shifts of time below the urban centers in which the process was conducted.
The drillings go from 0 to 150 feet below the surface level of the cities. Each contextual artwork visualizes the geological life below the site that had been hidden by concrete and asphalt. The presented sculptures are site-specific and depend entirely on the sediment and rock deposits of the region. They show the uniqueness of the geology and the land from which the drillings are made. These works of art have been commissioned for the opening exhibition for the Ludwig Museum in Köln, Germany and the Art of the Decade show in Chicago.
By exposing the earth from both natural and urban
areas, Sonfist shows that the urban environment has its own internal secrets. Using exposed rock formations within a site, the geological sculptures are created visualizing the layering history of the unseen earth. The Rocky Mountain Arch, commissioned by the Aspen Art Museum, is composed of rocks from all layers of time in the Rocky Mountains.
In these works, Sonfist is capturing a specific moment
in time and bringing the immense scale of geological history to light.
“The geological pieces are concerned with time and the secrets the past contains. The earth itself is a living system; the indigenous stones capture a moment in time dedicated to the site they came from.”
Time Layers of Manhattan Rock drillings from 0-100 feet below Manhattan Collection of the National Museum of Australia, Canberra, 1979
Hidden Secrets of New York Rock drillings from 0-100 feet below New York City 20 ft. x 4 ft. x 6 in. 1971
Earth Monument of Atlanta Rock drillings from 0-150 feet below the High Museum of Art, Atlanta 5 ft. x 10 ft. x 3 in. 1979
Rock Monument of Niagra Falls 1 Rock drillings from 0-175 feet the Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo 10 ft. x 12 ft. x 3 in. 1971
Earth Monument of Koln Rock drillings from 0-100 feet 12 x 14 ft. x 6 in. 1984 Ludwig Museum, Germany
New York Layering Rock drillings from 0-100 feet below New York City 4 ft. x 4 ft. x 3 in. 1975
Rock Monument of Chicago Rock drillings from 0-150 feet below the Museum of Contemporay Art 10 ft. x 10 ft. x 3 in. 1980
Rock Monument of Dallas Rock drillings from 0-500 feet below the Dallas Museum of Fine Art 5 ft. x 20 ft. x 3 in. 1981
Rock Monument of Akron, OH Rock drillings from 25-150 feet below the Louisiana Museum of Art 10 ft. x 15 ft. x 3 in. 1971
Rock/Earth Monument of NYC Rock drillings from 0-125 feet below the Museum of Modern Art 6 ft. x 4 ft. x 3 in. 1979
Earth Prints of New York Seisomogoraphic Prints of New York City 11 x 14 in. 1969
Time Totem Stone and Steel Rod 18 x 14 x 4 ft. 1987 Private Collection, Anchorage, AK
Rocky Mountain Arch Stone, 16 x 6 x 5 ft. 1991 Commissioned by the Aspen Art Museum
Front Cover, New York Layering, Rock Drillings from 0-100 feet, 1975, 2 ft. x 4 ft. x 3 in. (detail) Back Cover, Full Sculpture