Using biodegradable paint, Saype creates murals across grass and dirt, seen best far above the ground. Working on thousands of square feet, the artist is able to create scenes in which characters explore humanity’s relationship with the earth. A recent work, below, is perhaps the most vivid example of this to date.
On the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Ra Paulette’s Luminous Caves lie hidden within a rocky sandstone mesa that appears untouched from the outside. Within it, Paulette’s labyrinthine, sculptural land art evokes Gaudi’s architecture with its high ceilings and organic, spiraling embellishments. Dug singlehandedly by the artist, the caves were envisioned as a place of spiritual reflection and community gathering for Santa Fe area’s rural communities as well as visitors. Paulette created the multi-purpose space over the course of 10 years, describing his process as an organic dance with the land. Within the awe-inspiring architecture of Luminous Caves, Paulette says he hopes to inspire his viewers to connect with the spiritual side of nature.
Inspired in part by the Land Art movement of the late 1960s, Javier Riera’s “luminance interventions” — geometric patterns projected directly on natural landscapes — are there one moment and gone the next with the flip of a switch.