| In
Revival Field, (1990-present), Mel Chin deals with issues surrounding land reclamation.
He stated, Conceptually this work is envisioned as a sculpture involving the
reduction process, a traditional method when carving wood or stone. Here the
material being approached is unseen and the tools will be biochemistry and agriculture.
The work, in its most complete incarnation (after the fences are removed and
the toxic-laden weeds harvested) will offer minimal visual and formal effects.
For a time, an intended invisible aesthetic will exist that can be measured
scientifically by the quality of a revitalized earth. Eventually that aesthetic
will be revealed in the return of growth to the soil. (p. 111) This ecological
restoration project was supported by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. It
was conceived in collaboration with Rufus L. Chaney, senior research scientist
at the United States Department of Agriculture. Chin's project attempted to
detoxify a 60 square foot section of the Pig's Eye landfill in St. Paul, Minnesota.
In Revival Field, Chin expanded on ideas of organic growth and concentrated
his art-making around issues involving "green remediation" or the regeneration
of biotic and abiotic materials over time in an evolving environment. This particular
green remediation project investigated an important new natural method of cleaning
up toxic waste. Chaney and Chin used a special group of plants to extract heavy
metals from the landfill's soil through the plants' biomass. They selected six
kinds of plants known as hyperaccumulators. Sweet corn (Zea mays) and bladder
campion (Silene cucabalis) were two varieties planted with the help of five
assistants. Heavy metals such as zinc and cadmium were absorbed through the
plant's leaves and roots. During the growth cycle, toxic elements were stored
in the plants. Safety precautions were strictly followed in preparing the soil
before planting. Prior to the project, the artist and assistants received forty
hours of Hazardous Materials Incident Response Training. Barbara Matilsky (1992)
wrote, The contaminated earth was fenced in with chain link and subdivided by
intersecting paths that form an X. The project's boundaries are circumscribed
by a square. Chin conceives of these overlays as a target, a metaphorical reference
to the works pin-point cleanup. The divisions are also functional, separating
different varieties of plants from each other for study. In the circular field
the intersecting paths create four fields where six types of plants and two
pH and two fertilizer tests can occur in each quadrant. The land area between
the square and circle functions as a control plot where plants will be seeded
with local grasses. The design for revival field facilitates the chemical analysis
of each section. (p. 109-110) The City of St. Paul's Maintance Department cared
for the ecological garden. In autumn of 1991, the plants were harvested, dried,
ashed, and analyzed under controlled conditions by Dr. Chaney. He believes the
ashing process increases the amount of metal received from the plants to a level
of commercial ore. The artist and his collaborators hope that eventually through
land restoration projects such as this using green remediation processes, the
cost of healing toxic landfills might be recovered from the recycled materials.
Plantings are scheduled at Revival Field until the site is detoxified. Within
contemporary ecological art practices, many artistic approaches and attitudes
about environmental issues have been used to find solutions to reconnect nature
and culture. From this diversity and advocacy, ecological restoration becomes
deeply connected to art and education through community involvement. In Museum
News Matilsky states that "artists like Mel Chin are expanding the definition
of art and forging a new identity for themselves. Traditionally, the process
of creating art has been an individual pursuit. By contrast, ecological art
is dependent upon an institution--museum, college, gallery, or states arts organization--and
is a cooperative effort with the community." (p.148) Art critic Jeffrey Kastner
(1991) states, "Chin's relationship to the landscape--his efforts to reshape
conceptions of places and events has exceeded the metaphorical. His synthesis
of art, history, and science changes not only the viewers' conception of life
on earth but ultimately also the earth itself." Mel Chin, through his art, is
fostering a new awareness of the importance of bioregions based on healthy,
ecologically conscious approaches to living. |
|
mel chin
revival field
|
|
The
research and testing of a new "green remediation" technology has advanced from
laboratory to field, thanks to an important contribution from an unlikely source--an
artist. Green remediation refers to the use of plants to remove heavy metals
from contaminated soil. When New York sculptor Mel Chin read about hyperaccumulator
plants, he was struck by the poetic nature of this process. So he conceived
a sculpture in which plants and biotechnology would replace chisels and marble.
Chin says the aesthetic of "Revival Field," the name for the field trials project,
"relates to my interest in alchemy and my understanding of transformative processes
and the mutable nature of materials. The contaminated soil is transformed back
into rich earth, capable of sustaining a diverse ecosystem." Chin says his sense
of "responsibility to the scientific advancements that could make this change
possible" led him to Rufus Chaney, who was doing lab research on hyperaccumulators.
The initial phase of the Revival Field project enabled Chaney's laboratory research
to be tested for the first time on actual contaminated sites. After lengthy
and difficult negotiations, Chin was able to secure a location for the first
trial at Pig's Eye Landfill in St. Paul, Minnesota. The site is contaminated
with cadmium, zinc, and lead. With funding from the National Endowment for the
Arts and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, this innovative project began.
Following Chaney's scientific plan, Chin designed a circular field with replicated
plantings to analyze the use of six hyperaccumulator and metal-tolerant plants
and a variety of soil treatments. Two main walkways divided the field like the
crosshair of a rifle scope, symbolizing a targeting of the earth for cleanup.
The Minnesota field trial was active from 1990 to 1993. It showed that Alpine
pennycress was best at taking in heavy metals, although neither it nor any of
the other plants took in metals fast enough to achieve significant cleansing
in 3 years. A second similar test is currently under way near a Superfund site
in Palmerton, Pennsylvania. Superfund refers to areas placed on a national priorities
list for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cleanup. Revival Field is by design
a public project, and both collaborators have sought to make information available
to a wide audience through lectures, articles, and art exhibitions. The project
has already generated considerable interest among scientists, artists, and environmentally
concerned citizens. Chin says, "The next phase of Revival Field will depend
on the needs and directives of Rufus Chaney and a growing body of like-minded
specialists from around the world. Art and science will continue their integrated
cooperation in an active response to a problem that threatens the health of
communities everywhere."--By Don Comis, ARS. |
|
|
Mel Chin was born in 1957
and raised in Houston, Texas. In 1975, he studied art at Peabody College
in Nashville, Tennessee. Chin originally began working in sculpture which
addressed political and social issues. He became interested in environmental
art as his ideas expanded to include a greater consideration for ecological
systems and sustainability. Chin's interests include creating work that
addresses issues of habitat devastation, restoration, and sustaining the
planet's biodiversity.
|
|
|
