In the Northern Hemisphere, fall can feel like a season of creative withdrawal: Landscapes are stripped back to their earthy skeletons, temperatures fall and our preoccupations take a turn for the domestic. But desert artists have a different way of relating to barren places: not as withered and uninspiring, but as blank canvases for huge works of art. In the 1960s, land artists and light artists—the former working with site-specific sculpture, the latter with natural and artificial illumination—beat a path to the deserts of the American West where they created enormous, often permanent works in the arid landscape. Desert art is now found around the world. House to Watch the Sunset was built by Swiss artist Not Vital near the desert city of Agadez in Niger. Constructed with traditional adobe bricks, this architectural sculpture sums up much This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-Seven Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 45 Yoga with Adriene The internet’s best friend is—finally—finding her own flow. Arts & Culture Garden Issue 45 Piet Oudolf The Dutch designer bringing life—and death—to traditional gardens. Arts & Culture Issue 45 Thomas MacDonell The conservationist transforming the Highlands. Arts & Culture Design Issue 45 The New Craftsmen From the Outer Hebrides to central London, Catherine Lock is celebrating the crafts heritage of Great Britain. Arts & Culture Music Issue 45 Gerard & Kelly On dance, domesticity and the giants of modernism. Arts & Culture Issue 45 Hang in There How to make the best of a bad job.
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Arts & Culture Garden Issue 45 Piet Oudolf The Dutch designer bringing life—and death—to traditional gardens.
Arts & Culture Design Issue 45 The New Craftsmen From the Outer Hebrides to central London, Catherine Lock is celebrating the crafts heritage of Great Britain.
