Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art

For some it’s just a hole in the ground or a pile of dirt but others will agree with Lisa Simpson: land art makes the world a little more magical. James Crump's documentary - his previous work was an exploration of the relationship between Robert Mapplethorpe and Sam Wagstaff – takes us through the birth of a very odd branch of outsider art that will outlive us all. "Come with an open mind," read one of the advertisements of their exhibition. Ditto this documentary.

In the sixties a group of artists, seeing themselves as 'explorers', began to look outside the galleries for 'a larger canvas' and show that "art doesn’t solely exist in Soho." With the idea that if our planet is an object then an object can be changed, manipulated, designed, Walter De Maria, Michael Heizer, Robert Smithson and others, using the Caterpillar as a paintbrush, made their way into the American deserts and set about creating huge pieces either dug out of the ground: Double Negative (two ravines separated by a gap in the hillside), Lightning Field (spires plonked in the middle of a clearing), and Spiral Jetty (circular landfill jutting out into a body of water) being the most famous.

Whereas De Maria set about making the observer part of the piece (you had to walk into his Lightning Field, your presence in effect changing the work), Heizer and Smithson were after pieces to be viewed/appreciated only from an aerial vantage point. And to find them was/is in itself a journey.

Crump’s documentary is as speedy as it is short. Like a relay team, the interviewees are allowed only short bursts of information before Crumb moves on to the next – what can be garnered is interesting but a lot is lost in the deluge of theories and opinions and can go over the head. With only grainy black and white footage to work from, and only a handful of pieces to circle/explore, Crump’s visuals can suffer from repetition, while the troublemaking aspect of the artists isn’t given enough oomph with Heizer and co. rarely rubbing up against the established art community.

But Troublemakers is still a fascinating watch at times.