I have visited this site periodically since the sculpture, "Scale" by Steven Siegel was erected in 2002. It has collapsed and decayed a little quicker than expected. This is the remains after seven and a half years in the environment. It was sited in a clearing among tall oak trees.
The eventual collapse and decay of the structure signifies the return of the organic matter within the newspapers to the land. The nutrients would be used in the birth of trees that were cut down for the production of the newspapers. This represents the closing of a regenerative cycle. For reference, I am placing a paper I wrote on Steven Siegel's sculpture, "Scale," on to this blog.
“Scale”
Steven Siegel
By Jaime K. An-Wong
April 24, 2009
Art helps us identify with nature and to connect to it. In contemplating the sculpture, in its naturally sited surroundings, we can better understand our relationship with nature and participate in preserving our common future. With this particular sculpture, the processes involved in the various stages of transformation are observed. This was the promise of Steven Siegel’s sculpture, “Scale,” constructed at the Abington Arts Center in the fall of 2002.
The sculpture was carefully sited in a wooded clearing, surrounded by tall oak trees. At a distance the monument first appears as stone, a gray form with piled strata (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Steven Siegel, “Scale,” 2002
Photo taken March 3, 2004
Upon closer inspection, it is composed of newspaper layered one upon another (Figure 2).
-1-
Figure 2. Steven Siegel, “Scale,” 2002
Photo taken March 4, 2004
It took eight days to erect the sculpture, “Scale.” A wooden frame was constructed, which was anchored by two 18 foot trees. With the help of 50 volunteers, the newspapers were laid, layer upon layer. 20,000 pounds of recycled (locally obtained) newspapers were collected and used. The repetitive act of layering the newspapers is integral to the artistic process, yielding an impressive cumulative monument. People understand the repetitive process. There is meaning in the process and it gets the message out. Community participation in the construction was an important aspect for the impact of this sculpture. As a consumer, my family generates 11 pounds of used newspapers each week. It would take our household approximately 35 years to generate 20,000 pounds of newspaper waste. For Steven Siegel, this is not lost when contemplating the waste this consumer society propagates, when viewing “Scale.” This was the largest sculpture of newspapers for Siegel at the time.
Steven Siegel early in his artistic career had an interest in geology and geologic processes.
How his interest in earth processes could relate to his artwork, becomes evident in his sculpture,
-2-
“Scale.” “Scale” stands 22 feet above the ground. This was not done to defy gravity. In fact, the layering of newspapers was leveled to align itself with the forces of gravity. It was to be a sturdy structure to last a generation. He intended for the sculpture to have the look of stone and to last longer than expected for newspapers. Rocks that form in basins from sediments, carried by flowing water, have the same appearance because of the effects of gravity. The layering of strata is the result of repetitive processes, only over immense geologic time spans. Human activity just shortens the creative process for the artwork. Pressure from overlying earth and heat generated from the center of the earth cement the layers to produce the rock formations. By human activity, the layers are held together by the weight of the newspapers above. The wooden frame and large nails were used to keep the layers of newspapers from shifting. Deterioration of the sculpture and erosion of rock formations are natural processes. Due to tectonic forces, sedimentary rocks may be lifted up, initiating the process of erosion by wind and water. Only after millennia of years, particularly with flowing water, the water would dissolve or wash away the cemented rock particles causing it to erode. The sculpture was constructed above ground, so these same forces immediately go to work to break down the monument’s integrity. Unlike the inorganic rocks, the sculpture is also attacked by microflora and larger biologic agents such as molds, fungi, and insects. The integrity of the newspapers becomes jeopardized. First, small pieces of newspapers fragment, then the fragments are washed away by rain or blown away by wind. Once the framework is compromised then gravity takes over and sections of the sculpture may collapse (Figure 3). Again, after a sufficient time and a slow process of decay, the decayed material becomes a constituent of the soil.
-3-
Figure 3. Steven Siegel, “Scale,” 2002
Photo taken October 2006 (1)
Figure 4. Steven Siegel, “Scale,” 2002
Photo taken April 9, 2009
Early on, the geologic processes and formations stimulated the imagination for Siegel.
The transformation of the rock formations were changing the landscape over a grand geologic
-4-
scale of time. Sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, he was able make his pilgrimage to Scotland in 1983. Siccar Point in Scotland was where James Hutton made his observations about the sedimentary rocks, the processes involved in changing the landscape, and the immense geologic time span it took. In 1785, Dr. James Hutton wrote “Theory of the Earth.” He challenged the conventional thinking that the age of the earth was only 5,000 to 6,000 years old. Here he proposed that understanding the ground we stand on holds the key to imagining what the past landscape looked like. He maintained that the geologic processes at work in the present were the same as those at work in our geologic past. Coupled with the immense geologic time span, this became known as uniformitarianism.(2) More and more, we are recognizing that nature’s well being is connected to human activity. The dynamic earth is not unchangeable, and now we know that humans are the principle agents of change in this era. Humans and the environment are interconnected, we can not continue taking from the earth, at some point we must give back to mother earth. It questions the previously held myth that humans can do anything with impunity, without any consequences to the environment. More than likely, the solution will require community participation and an interdisciplinary approach.
In stacking newspapers within a given framework, Siegel could construct a sculpture that had the appearance of a rock formation. The sculpture would have weight and the solidness of a rock monument. The layering of newspapers could give the formation, a sedimentary rock look. How much time would it take to breakdown the structure? Nature’s eroding processes may take millions of years to breakdown the rock formations seen in Scotland. An earlier sculpture with stacking of newspaper, “New Geology #2”, was constructed in 1990. After 13 years, the monument was still intact and the newsprint was still able to be read. (3) But, one mitigating
-5-
circumstance for “New Geology #2” was, that it was not as exposed to the elements of
weathering. It was sighted in the woods near his home in Milan, New York. The structure was allowed to integrate into the environment, so the surfaces became over-grown with vegetation (Figure 5). This is much like the natural landscape of earth with vegetation of the surface growing above the underlying soil.
Figure 5. Steven Siegel, “New Geology #2,” 1990
Photo taken 1992, flora, newspaper, stone, 5 x 11 x 11 feet (4)
“Scale” was constructed in the fall of 2002. I first visited the Abington Art Center in February 2004, and there was very little decay evident. The guide remarked that the monument was anticipated to stand about 15 years. But, this spring a notice was posted that “Scale” was deteriorating more quickly than anticipated. It had collapsed in approximately 6 1/2 years. Was the shorter life span a result of design or greater than anticipated eroding and decaying forces? I visited “Scale” in March 2009, when there was a slight snow cover (Figure 6).
-6-
Figure 6. Steven Siegel, “Scale,” 2002
Photo taken March 3, 2009
In 2004, the only deterioration visible was the discoloration of the newspaper (Figure 2). Microflora was growing on the newspaper causing the discoloration. The erosion and the decaying process continued until the wooden framework weakened and the structure began to collapse in October 2006 (Figure 3). By this spring (2009) very little of the original erect form remained (Figure 4). I have been fortunate to have observed the effects of natural forces and processes on this monument. These forces are the same as the ones that Dr. James Hutton and Steven Siegel observed in Scotland. Only those formations took an immense geologic time span to produce. Art as a human activity brings human dimensions to contemplate. We do not need to wait a millennium to observe the deterioration of a stone-like monument. We can see it in our lifetime. What we contemplate then has a more direct effect. Seeing the results makes it more powerful. The concept of what we take from the land, when we harvest trees for paper, can be
-7-
returned to the land, when the newspapers decay into the soil was heart warming to the guide at the Art Center. This was an act which was responsible ecologically.
By looking at the processes at work, we can gain a better understanding of the systems around us. Then, we can make better choices. Steven Siegel’s first attempt at these structures was for the Snug Harbor Sculpture Festival on Staten Island. Although he felt that his first attempt at these structures was not successful, he noticed that the largest landfill in the United States was located on Staten Island. At the Fresh Kills Landfill, garbage is buried under mounds of earth. Newspapers will remain intact and readable for longer periods of time, when buried compared to exposed structures, such as “Scales.” Here, Steven Siegel contemplated that with buried human waste we are creating a “new geology.” (5) This would be a geology that has the stamp of human activity and culture. Thus, his first attempts in this kind of sculpture were titled “New Geology #1” and “New Geology #2.” Since “New Geology #2” was over-grown with vegetation, it did not erode and decay as quickly as the structures that were more exposed, such as “Scales.” The difference in erosion and decay is one of processes and the rate at which the processes work. “Scale” is just one phase in a cycle that the viewer contemplates. There are both natural processes and processes related to human activity that is going on. We can begin with the natural processes of tree growth sustained by the nutrients from the earth. But, it is human activity which cuts down the trees and where paper is made from the wood pulp. Our culture is expressed in newsprint that is printed on the paper. The newspaper is read and hopefully, recycled. Finally, the last act of human culture, the monument of newspaper is erected, represented by “Scale.” Nature now has its way, physical processes of erosion immediately go to work, and the structure inevitably starts to erode. Since the structure has
-8-
organic content, biologic systems erupt in the structure to begin decay. Finally, the structure
meets its ultimate destiny being incorporated back into the earth to form soil, the nutrient for the living plants. This seems to be a sustainable cycle surrounding Steven Siegel’s “Scale.” It works because we understand the processes, and instead of working against nature, we are working with it.
We want to make human activity and human life sustainable for the future. Because we are all in it together, this will take a community effort. For Steven Siegel, the newspaper reflects our culture. As illustrated here, the production of newspapers consumes almost an unimaginable number of trees. But, “Scales” allows us to grasp the amount in real terms. For my family, it represents about 35 years of accumulated use of newspapers and the number of trees needed to produce that amount of paper. We are a consumer society, and the sculpture reminds us of this. But, we are consumers of information and the newspapers are one of our principle sources of it. The collapse of “Scale” questions whether this activity is sustainable. It doesn’t demand that “recycling” newspaper is the “ultimate” solution, but challenges us to propose better solutions or use alternate methods to disseminate information. So, art may cause us to contemplate what we are doing, where we are going, and what effects we are having on the environment. We can see that the solutions are likely to require community participation. Here, art is a likely candidate to rally the community and engage each individual. Art may engage individuals from a variety of backgrounds, such as geology, literature, politics, engineering, concern for the environment, etc. And, hopefully art can get them to work together. For sure, it is best understood with an interdisciplinary approach. For Steven Siegel, his interest in geology and concern for the environment brought a different perspective for the viewer to contemplate. The result hopefully
-9-
would be to bring a community together, to ask important questions, to seek out possible solutions, and to energize the community to take an active part. We can become hopeful once more, with community participation and this kind of interdisciplinary thinking.
-10-
Notes:
(1)Abington Art Center, website http://abingtonartcenter.org/on-view/archive/
(2)McPhee, John, “Basin and Range” (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, New York, 1980) 95-104
ISBN 0-374-10914-1
(3)Abington Art Center, “Scale”, 2002
(4)Bolender, Karin, “Into the Holocene: The Art of Steven Siegel”, Dutchess Magazine,
February 2000
(5)Bolender, Karin, “Into the Holocene: The Art of Steven Siegel”, Dutchess Magazine,
February 2000
-11-
References:
-Abington Art Center, “Scale”, 2002
-Abington Art Center, website http://abingtonartcenter.org/on-view/archive/
-Bolender, Karin, “Into the Holocene: The Art of Steven Siegel”, Dutchess Magazine,
February 2000
-McPhee, John, “Basin and Range” (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, New York, 1980)
ISBN 0-374-10914-1
-Phillips, Patricia C., “Wandering Through Time: The Sculpture of Steven Siegel”, Sculpture,
October 2003
-Siegel, Steven. 2003. http://stevensiegel.net/
-12-
Photo taken March 3, 2004
Upon closer inspection, it is composed of newspaper layered one upon another (Figure 2).
-1-
Figure 2. Steven Siegel, “Scale,” 2002
Photo taken March 4, 2004
It took eight days to erect the sculpture, “Scale.” A wooden frame was constructed, which was anchored by two 18 foot trees. With the help of 50 volunteers, the newspapers were laid, layer upon layer. 20,000 pounds of recycled (locally obtained) newspapers were collected and used. The repetitive act of layering the newspapers is integral to the artistic process, yielding an impressive cumulative monument. People understand the repetitive process. There is meaning in the process and it gets the message out. Community participation in the construction was an important aspect for the impact of this sculpture. As a consumer, my family generates 11 pounds of used newspapers each week. It would take our household approximately 35 years to generate 20,000 pounds of newspaper waste. For Steven Siegel, this is not lost when contemplating the waste this consumer society propagates, when viewing “Scale.” This was the largest sculpture of newspapers for Siegel at the time.
Steven Siegel early in his artistic career had an interest in geology and geologic processes.
How his interest in earth processes could relate to his artwork, becomes evident in his sculpture,
-2-
“Scale.” “Scale” stands 22 feet above the ground. This was not done to defy gravity. In fact, the layering of newspapers was leveled to align itself with the forces of gravity. It was to be a sturdy structure to last a generation. He intended for the sculpture to have the look of stone and to last longer than expected for newspapers. Rocks that form in basins from sediments, carried by flowing water, have the same appearance because of the effects of gravity. The layering of strata is the result of repetitive processes, only over immense geologic time spans. Human activity just shortens the creative process for the artwork. Pressure from overlying earth and heat generated from the center of the earth cement the layers to produce the rock formations. By human activity, the layers are held together by the weight of the newspapers above. The wooden frame and large nails were used to keep the layers of newspapers from shifting. Deterioration of the sculpture and erosion of rock formations are natural processes. Due to tectonic forces, sedimentary rocks may be lifted up, initiating the process of erosion by wind and water. Only after millennia of years, particularly with flowing water, the water would dissolve or wash away the cemented rock particles causing it to erode. The sculpture was constructed above ground, so these same forces immediately go to work to break down the monument’s integrity. Unlike the inorganic rocks, the sculpture is also attacked by microflora and larger biologic agents such as molds, fungi, and insects. The integrity of the newspapers becomes jeopardized. First, small pieces of newspapers fragment, then the fragments are washed away by rain or blown away by wind. Once the framework is compromised then gravity takes over and sections of the sculpture may collapse (Figure 3). Again, after a sufficient time and a slow process of decay, the decayed material becomes a constituent of the soil.
-3-
Figure 3. Steven Siegel, “Scale,” 2002
Photo taken October 2006 (1)
Figure 4. Steven Siegel, “Scale,” 2002
Photo taken April 9, 2009
Early on, the geologic processes and formations stimulated the imagination for Siegel.
The transformation of the rock formations were changing the landscape over a grand geologic
-4-
scale of time. Sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, he was able make his pilgrimage to Scotland in 1983. Siccar Point in Scotland was where James Hutton made his observations about the sedimentary rocks, the processes involved in changing the landscape, and the immense geologic time span it took. In 1785, Dr. James Hutton wrote “Theory of the Earth.” He challenged the conventional thinking that the age of the earth was only 5,000 to 6,000 years old. Here he proposed that understanding the ground we stand on holds the key to imagining what the past landscape looked like. He maintained that the geologic processes at work in the present were the same as those at work in our geologic past. Coupled with the immense geologic time span, this became known as uniformitarianism.(2) More and more, we are recognizing that nature’s well being is connected to human activity. The dynamic earth is not unchangeable, and now we know that humans are the principle agents of change in this era. Humans and the environment are interconnected, we can not continue taking from the earth, at some point we must give back to mother earth. It questions the previously held myth that humans can do anything with impunity, without any consequences to the environment. More than likely, the solution will require community participation and an interdisciplinary approach.
In stacking newspapers within a given framework, Siegel could construct a sculpture that had the appearance of a rock formation. The sculpture would have weight and the solidness of a rock monument. The layering of newspapers could give the formation, a sedimentary rock look. How much time would it take to breakdown the structure? Nature’s eroding processes may take millions of years to breakdown the rock formations seen in Scotland. An earlier sculpture with stacking of newspaper, “New Geology #2”, was constructed in 1990. After 13 years, the monument was still intact and the newsprint was still able to be read. (3) But, one mitigating
-5-
circumstance for “New Geology #2” was, that it was not as exposed to the elements of
weathering. It was sighted in the woods near his home in Milan, New York. The structure was allowed to integrate into the environment, so the surfaces became over-grown with vegetation (Figure 5). This is much like the natural landscape of earth with vegetation of the surface growing above the underlying soil.
Figure 5. Steven Siegel, “New Geology #2,” 1990
Photo taken 1992, flora, newspaper, stone, 5 x 11 x 11 feet (4)
“Scale” was constructed in the fall of 2002. I first visited the Abington Art Center in February 2004, and there was very little decay evident. The guide remarked that the monument was anticipated to stand about 15 years. But, this spring a notice was posted that “Scale” was deteriorating more quickly than anticipated. It had collapsed in approximately 6 1/2 years. Was the shorter life span a result of design or greater than anticipated eroding and decaying forces? I visited “Scale” in March 2009, when there was a slight snow cover (Figure 6).
-6-
Figure 6. Steven Siegel, “Scale,” 2002
Photo taken March 3, 2009
In 2004, the only deterioration visible was the discoloration of the newspaper (Figure 2). Microflora was growing on the newspaper causing the discoloration. The erosion and the decaying process continued until the wooden framework weakened and the structure began to collapse in October 2006 (Figure 3). By this spring (2009) very little of the original erect form remained (Figure 4). I have been fortunate to have observed the effects of natural forces and processes on this monument. These forces are the same as the ones that Dr. James Hutton and Steven Siegel observed in Scotland. Only those formations took an immense geologic time span to produce. Art as a human activity brings human dimensions to contemplate. We do not need to wait a millennium to observe the deterioration of a stone-like monument. We can see it in our lifetime. What we contemplate then has a more direct effect. Seeing the results makes it more powerful. The concept of what we take from the land, when we harvest trees for paper, can be
-7-
returned to the land, when the newspapers decay into the soil was heart warming to the guide at the Art Center. This was an act which was responsible ecologically.
By looking at the processes at work, we can gain a better understanding of the systems around us. Then, we can make better choices. Steven Siegel’s first attempt at these structures was for the Snug Harbor Sculpture Festival on Staten Island. Although he felt that his first attempt at these structures was not successful, he noticed that the largest landfill in the United States was located on Staten Island. At the Fresh Kills Landfill, garbage is buried under mounds of earth. Newspapers will remain intact and readable for longer periods of time, when buried compared to exposed structures, such as “Scales.” Here, Steven Siegel contemplated that with buried human waste we are creating a “new geology.” (5) This would be a geology that has the stamp of human activity and culture. Thus, his first attempts in this kind of sculpture were titled “New Geology #1” and “New Geology #2.” Since “New Geology #2” was over-grown with vegetation, it did not erode and decay as quickly as the structures that were more exposed, such as “Scales.” The difference in erosion and decay is one of processes and the rate at which the processes work. “Scale” is just one phase in a cycle that the viewer contemplates. There are both natural processes and processes related to human activity that is going on. We can begin with the natural processes of tree growth sustained by the nutrients from the earth. But, it is human activity which cuts down the trees and where paper is made from the wood pulp. Our culture is expressed in newsprint that is printed on the paper. The newspaper is read and hopefully, recycled. Finally, the last act of human culture, the monument of newspaper is erected, represented by “Scale.” Nature now has its way, physical processes of erosion immediately go to work, and the structure inevitably starts to erode. Since the structure has
-8-
organic content, biologic systems erupt in the structure to begin decay. Finally, the structure
meets its ultimate destiny being incorporated back into the earth to form soil, the nutrient for the living plants. This seems to be a sustainable cycle surrounding Steven Siegel’s “Scale.” It works because we understand the processes, and instead of working against nature, we are working with it.
We want to make human activity and human life sustainable for the future. Because we are all in it together, this will take a community effort. For Steven Siegel, the newspaper reflects our culture. As illustrated here, the production of newspapers consumes almost an unimaginable number of trees. But, “Scales” allows us to grasp the amount in real terms. For my family, it represents about 35 years of accumulated use of newspapers and the number of trees needed to produce that amount of paper. We are a consumer society, and the sculpture reminds us of this. But, we are consumers of information and the newspapers are one of our principle sources of it. The collapse of “Scale” questions whether this activity is sustainable. It doesn’t demand that “recycling” newspaper is the “ultimate” solution, but challenges us to propose better solutions or use alternate methods to disseminate information. So, art may cause us to contemplate what we are doing, where we are going, and what effects we are having on the environment. We can see that the solutions are likely to require community participation. Here, art is a likely candidate to rally the community and engage each individual. Art may engage individuals from a variety of backgrounds, such as geology, literature, politics, engineering, concern for the environment, etc. And, hopefully art can get them to work together. For sure, it is best understood with an interdisciplinary approach. For Steven Siegel, his interest in geology and concern for the environment brought a different perspective for the viewer to contemplate. The result hopefully
-9-
would be to bring a community together, to ask important questions, to seek out possible solutions, and to energize the community to take an active part. We can become hopeful once more, with community participation and this kind of interdisciplinary thinking.
-10-
Notes:
(1)Abington Art Center, website http://abingtonartcenter.org/on-view/archive/
(2)McPhee, John, “Basin and Range” (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, New York, 1980) 95-104
ISBN 0-374-10914-1
(3)Abington Art Center, “Scale”, 2002
(4)Bolender, Karin, “Into the Holocene: The Art of Steven Siegel”, Dutchess Magazine,
February 2000
(5)Bolender, Karin, “Into the Holocene: The Art of Steven Siegel”, Dutchess Magazine,
February 2000
-11-
References:
-Abington Art Center, “Scale”, 2002
-Abington Art Center, website http://abingtonartcenter.org/on-view/archive/
-Bolender, Karin, “Into the Holocene: The Art of Steven Siegel”, Dutchess Magazine,
February 2000
-McPhee, John, “Basin and Range” (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, New York, 1980)
ISBN 0-374-10914-1
-Phillips, Patricia C., “Wandering Through Time: The Sculpture of Steven Siegel”, Sculpture,
October 2003
-Siegel, Steven. 2003. http://stevensiegel.net/
-12-
