Sabine Marx, Social Scientist and Communication Strategist, Writes in Support of "Greenwood Pond: Double Site"
On January 23, 2024, Sabine Marx 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 Ms. Baum,
I am writing to you as a member of the Board of Directors at City as a Living Laboratory. I have been working with and supporting Mary since 2009. While that may make me biased, I am also writing as a Ph.D. social scientist who studies human behavior in the context of environmental change and sustainable development. One of the most important insights from my three decades of work has been the importance of experiential learning when it comes to raising awareness of environmental problems and motivating action, paired with the critical elements of participatory processes and community engagement. Mary's installation Greenwood Pond: Double Site embodies all these crucial principles and more, and Mary did so years ahead of her time!
I urge you and the DMAC Board to reconsider and reverse your decision to tear down this significant installation. There are other options! Please engage in conversations with Mary and others about approaches to restoring the work and developing a long-term, ongoing maintenance plan.
The Arts play a tremendous role in making environmental and social issues visible and offer tremendous tools for enacting change. Today's world needs more of this holistic collaborative approach, not less, if we want to solve the growing environmental problems we're facing. Taking Mary's installation down would be a disgrace. Tearing down this work would equate a slap in the face of all those who were at the vanguard of environmental art and land art, and all those who to this day are inspired and encouraged by those remarkable artists -- and all those who enjoy the benefits from the countless successes of environmental restoration and protection that resulted from it.
Again, I implore you to reverse your decision and honor the installation, the history it carries, the success it has enjoyed, and the inspiration it continues to provide.
Best regards,
Sabine
Sabine Marx, Ph.D.
Communication Strategist, Brevity & Wit
Former Managing Director and Research Scientist, Center for Research on Environmental Decisions | Columbia University, NY
Lead Trainer and Former Director of Research and Research Scientist, National Center for Disaster Preparedness | Columbia University, NY
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