Abstract
This article explored the work of Strijdom van der Merwe, the concept of land art and the notion of the artist’s book in the context of the historical and contemporary art market. The premise of the article is the view that if something can be called art, it can also be sold, even if it is an art form that seems ‘impossible’ to sell, such as land art. This article considers the position of Van der Merwe, the pre-eminent South African land artist, in the somewhat unlikely context, of the South African art market. Van der Merwe is a successful full-time land artist, which is a rare phenomenon in the South African art scene. Indeed in the 1960s, land art was deemed impossible to sell anywhere, and this article explored the extent to which this is still the case today. The research method of the article comprised semi-structured interviews and a literature review. It was argued, in view of Van der Merwe’s work, that whilst it may be true that if something can be called art, it can be sold, then the proviso ‘somehow’ must be added when referring to seemingly ‘impossible art’.
Highlights
Journeys like these are about the discovering of one self, how you will react to the landscape and the most exciting is how the creative process will unfold as you enter the natural unknown landscape of the island
the artist's book were considered with reference to the art market
his work has indeed been present on the primary art market through the sales
Summary
Journeys like these are about the discovering of one self, how you will react to the landscape and the most exciting is how the creative process will unfold as you enter the natural unknown landscape of the island. In this article the work of South Africa’s most well-known land artist, Strijdom van der Merwe Van der Merwe’s contribution to the creative research project entitled Transgressions and boundaries of the page, was to combine land art – his primary art form – with conventions from the artist’s book Sculpting the Land (2009). It can be argued that the artist’s book is a medium that renders Van der Merwe’s ‘impossible to sell’ art form more sellable in the broader art market. This argument is put forward whilst taking cognisance of David Paton’s (2008) sentiment that the artist’s book in itself is still an underappreciated art form in South Africa. The artist’s book will be examined alongside land art as a seemingly ‘impossible’ art form
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