Lucy Lippard, Writer, Art Critic, Activist, and Curator, Writes in Support of "Greenwood Pond: Double Site"
On January 31, 2024, Lucy Lippard 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.
Dear Kelly Baum,
I'm writing in hope that there is some way to save Mary Miss' Greenwood Pond now scheduled for demolition. It would be a huge loss to the environmental/land art communities and the general public. From this distance it seems that regular maintenance might have done the job but now that this decision has been made, I urge you to reconsider. Perhaps a nationwide fundraising drive? I have watched Mary from the very beginning become an extraordinary artist whose work must be not only admired but preserved.
Sincerely,
Lucy R. Lippard
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