I was intrigued by the Wheatfield project that Claire Doherty briefly describes in Out of time Out of Place: Public Art (Now). Doherty speak of Agnes Denes’ Wheatfield in the context of urban utopias and artists that geographically and physiologically effect public space. The Wheatfield project took place during the summer of 1982 in New York’s Battery Park Landfill, and involved the planting of 1.8 acres of wheat, which Denes maintained throughout the summer with the help of volunteers in order to harvest 100 lbs of grain in the fall.
Dennis stated the purpose of the project was “grew out of a long-standing concern and need to call attention to our misplaced priorities and deteriorating human values.” The field was a matter of blocks from the World Trade Center and the Stock Exchange, which causes any observer to question the effect that the work’s immediate environment has upon its interpretation. While we would typically class these two environments as near to opposite, Denes proves that the two can exist in harmony, and can dramatically change our perception of an environment. To look at Manhattan from the center of a wheat field undoubtedly provides a different perspective than facing the skyscrapers from the sidewalk.
http://greenmuseum.org/c/aen/Issues/denes.php
http://gothamist.com/2014/05/16/photos_the_wheat_field_that_took_ov.php