Elyn Zimmerman, Artist, Writes in Support of "Greenwood Pond: Double Site"
On January 22, 2024, Elyn Zimmerman wrote the following letter to the Des Moines Art Center (DMAC) Director Kelly Baum and Des Moines Parks and Recreation Director Ben Page concerning plans to demolish Greenwood Pond: Double Site, a site-specific installation by the internationally acclaimed leader of the land art movement, Mary Miss, commissioned for the Art Center’s permanent collection. The work, which opened in 1996, is in a diminished condition with some sections fenced off, suggesting the DMAC has not fulfilled its contractual obligation to “reasonably protect and maintain” the work. The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) is calling for the DMAC to reverse it demolition decision and, instead, to engage in meaningful consultations with the artist and others to find a solution that restores the artwork and develops a long-term, ongoing maintenance plan.
Dear Ms. Baum and Mr. Page,
It is unfortunate, shortsighted and draconian that a distinguished museum’s only solution to a financial problem is to resort to the destruction of a seminal artwork by a highly esteemed pioneer in the field of land art. This action demeans the artist, the museum, the Des Moines Park Department and the community of Des Moines in general.
There might not be an ‘easy’ solution to raising funds, but a museum has an obligation by its definition to protect and maintain ALL its artworks, not just the ones that fit in frames.
Has the museum and Parks Department explored possible sponsors in the local business community? Especially the construction companies in the area or those businesses that deal in construction materials.
Another fundraising example is that some art institutions support the repair and maintenance of outdoor works by appealing to their members and patrons to buy ’shares’ of the cost of the repair work.
As an artist and a deep admirer of Miss’s art works over the years I appeal to the DMAC and the Parks and Recreation Department to work out a sustainable solution to preserving Greenwood Pond: Double Site and insuring its future maintenance.
Elyn Zimmerman
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