Nancy Princenthal, Writer, Former Senior Editor, Art in America, Writes in Support of "Greenwood Pond: Double Site"
On January 22, 2024, Nancy Princenthal 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 was deeply distressed to learn, from major media sources, that the Des Moines Art Center plans to abandon Mary Miss's landmark artwork, Greenwood Pond: Double Site.
A pivotal work for Miss, this remarkable project has been, since its creation in 1996, a paradigm for public art that takes viewers into the landscape with intimacy, grace and power. “The things that have become so important in my later work — engagement of communities, collaboration with scientists, being able to take on something like climate change as an artist and have a seat at the table with politicians and educators — it started there,” Miss told the New York Times. These commitments have been enormously influential. Greenwood Pond: Double Site provides a beacon for others taking up concern with our threatened environment in work that effectively integrates advocacy, experiential learning and art.
Deciding to tear down this essential work is not only a terrible loss for those who cherish it, and for future viewers who would profit from its example, It is also a violation of trust. Specifically, it is a breach of the contract it entered into with Miss, which included the pledge to “reasonably protect and maintain the Project against the ravages of time, vandalism and the elements.” The manner in which the decision to dismantle the work was made seems particularly painful, as the museum's board apparently did not consult the artist about reasonable, affordable means for maintaining it.
I do hope you will reconsider this decision.
With thanks for your attention,
Nancy Princenthal
Writer and Former Senior Editor, Art in America
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