Jody Pinto, Artist, Writes in Support of "Greenwood Pond: Double Site"
On January 28, 2024, Jody Pinto wrote the following letter to the Des Moines Art Center (DMAC) Director Kelly Baum 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.
Artist Mary Miss creates Public Art that is literally alive, encourages participation and acts as a “teaching landscape”. All of these qualities exist in “Greenwood Pond: Double Site”. Des Moines Art Center recognized this and knew it was an early work of genius in her field.
We also know that any great work of Art demands love and constant care. How else do we preserve an artists legacy? How else do we teach our students? The contribution of women to the field of Public Art must be preserved!
My letter to you is a plea to engage in creative dialogue between Mary Miss, the DMAC Board and The Cultural Landscape Foundation.
Give Mary Miss’s early, important work “Greenwood Pond: Double Site” the care and renewed life it deserves in a long-term, ongoing maintenance plan!
Sincerely,
Jody Pinto, artist
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