Caro and Demaria Anthony Caro and Walter

Caro and DeMaria

Anthony Caro and Walter DeMaria:

Two Masters of Modern Art

Modern art is a conglomeration of talented individuals and unique means of expressing oneself. Each piece of art is therefore a process of inspiration and thought provocation incomparable to any other. Two pieces that are truly unique in this movement are Anthony Caro's sculpture entitled "Midday," and Walter DeMaria's installation, "The Earth Room." These two singular installations are perhaps not very well-known, but they are important to analyze. The paper below will thus explore the specific processes of these two works of art, but also their place in art history.

To begin, one must analyze Caro's "Midday." The sculpture was made in 1960 out of steel. The dimensions are approximately 240 x 96.5 x 366 centimeters, and the work is painted yellow. There is no easy way to describe Caro's work, which has traveled from the MoMA to the Metropolitan Museum, which are two of the most prestigious museums in the world. The sculptor himself states that: [1: "Anthony Caro - Midday." Sir Anthony Caro - Sculptor. Web. 05 June 2011. .]

"People have asked me to describe what my sculpture is about and I keep on saying it's like music. What I think I mean by that is that I'm trying to take out the whole business of it being pieces of steel that are used in engineering, pieces of steel that are used in architecture. I just happen to use those materials instead of using notes." [2: "MoMA | The Collection | Anthony Caro. Midday. 1960." MoMA | The Museum of Modern Art. Web. 05 June 2011. . ]

Caro's sculpture is as bright as the midday sun, and to me it does signify all the happiness of a summer day. According to Curator Emeritus, John Elderfield, Caro's statement (above) was fifteen years after "Midday." According to Elderfield, this work was even more radical in the 1960's, when it was made. The movement of the abstract had already started, but Caro's way of "arranging" the pieces, much like music, is quite innovative. [3: "MoMA | The Collection | Anthony Caro. Midday. 1960." MoMA | The Museum of Modern Art. Web. 05 June 2011. . ]

The English artist, according to the MoMA "found" modernism while working as an assistant to Henry Moore in the 1950's. Furthermore, the MoMA states that the artist "abandoned his earlier figurative work and started constructing sculptures by welding or bolting together collections of prefabricated metal, such as I-beams, steel plates and meshes […] often the finished piece is then painted in a bold flat color." Furthermore, Elderfield adds that, traditionally, one would be able to predict what a sculpture would look like from all sides, but in this case, one cannot know what the sculpture has in store, due to its variety and irrationality on all sides, which is what makes it so beautiful. [4: V..., Ahae At. "SIR ANTHONY CARO'S MIDDAY." NYC ? NYC. Web. 05 June 2011. . ]

The next piece is just as unique as Caro's art. The artist in this case is Walter DeMaria, an American born in 1935. DeMaria's unique work, the Earth Room, is on permanent display at the Dia Art Foundation in New York City. A well-known art blog describes the art as truly as earth sculpture, which is admired by everyone, from art connoisseurs to earth lovers. The earth sculpture, according to the author, is "interesting as an experience of the senses." When one visits the exhibit, the Earth Room is not available immediately to those who walk in. Instead, the art relies on the other senses to complete the experience. For one, according to the blog, "the air has a different quality to it […] humid, and the space smells reassuringly damp and earthy. The temperature of the space itself is very comfortable, regularized naturally by the soil and without the use of heaters." [5: "Walter De Maria Online." Art Cyclopedia: The Fine Art Search Engine. Web. 05 June 2011. . ] [6: "Dia Art Foundation - Walter De Maria: The New York Earth Room." Dia Art Foundation - Dia. Web. 05 June 2011. . ] [7: "Walter De Maria: The New York Earth Room, 1977." Contemporary Art New York. Web. 05 June 2011. . ] [8: "Walter De Maria: The New York Earth Room, 1977." Contemporary Art New York. Web. 05 June 2011. . ] [9: "Walter De Maria: The New York Earth Room, 1977." Contemporary Art New York. Web. 05 June 2011. . ]

The writer here describes that one the visitor does see the Earth Room in its full glory, so to speak, the combination of the whiteness of the walls, the light bulbs, the dark earth is quite amazing and truly showcases the innovative view that the artist once had. The author also adds the surprise of entering a space, which is meant to be a modern apartment in a very expensive and exclusive area of Manhattan, but instead of wood floors to see the earth, and element which belongs in nature, but which truly enables one to have a wonderfully unique experience. In this case, the blogger states that she laughed as she imagined "real estate agents in New York outraged at 3,600 square feet of precious SoHo floor space completely covered in soil." [10: "Walter De Maria: The New York Earth Room, 1977." Contemporary Art New York. Web. 05 June 2011. . ]