Time Landscape
Encyclopedia
Time Landscape is an artwork by the American artist Alan Sonfist
(1946- ). It consists of plants that were native to this area in pre-colonial times. These planted were replanted here until 1978, on a rectangular plot of 25' x 40' situated in lower Manhattan at the northeast corner of La Guardia Place and West Houston Street.
"When it was first planted, Time Landscape
portrayed the three stages of forest
growth from grasses to saplings to grown trees. The southern part of the plot represented the youngest stage and now has birch
trees and beaked hazelnut
shrubs, with a layer of wildflowers beneath. The center features a small grove
of beech trees (grown from saplings transplanted from Sonfist’s favorite childhood park
in the Bronx) and a woodland
with red cedar
, black cherry
, and witch hazel
above groundcover of mugwort, Virginia creeper, aster, pokeweed
, and milkweed. The northern area is a mature woodland
dominated by oak
s, with scattered white ash
and American elm trees. Among the numerous other species in this miniforest are oak
, sassafras
, sweetgum, and tulip trees
, arrowwood
and dogwood
shrubs, bindweed
and catbrier vine
s, and violets."
1978 The Time Landscape project is unveiled by Sonfist as a living monument to the native forest that once was Manhattan.
2005 NURTURE NEW YORKS NATURE INC. brings out a second edition to its landmark series in honor of the 40th anniversary of Alan Sonfist's Time Landscape.
Until September 2007 (Not clear since when) homeless people had found a way to climb over a barrier and to use the Time Landcape as a hangout place.
2007 September: Time Landscape is "cleaned up" by Alan Sonfist, volunteers and people from the Soho Alliance, Parks Department. Even though Alan Sonfist states on this occasion that Time Landscape is an open lab, not an enclosed landscape that the intention never was to keep out all non-native species, but rather to see how they come into the space with time – non native species are removed at this occasion ("morning glories clinging to the fence troubled many"). Garbage and things that had been in use by homeless are removed. Another reason that the Parks Department wants the underbushes to be cleared out is, to keep people from hiding there.
Cleanup time for Time Landscape indigenous garden By Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke, The Villager, Volume 77, Number 17, Sept. 26 - Oct. 2, 2007
Publication of his lecture series at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1969
ART IN THE LAND: A Critical Anthology of Environmental Art, E.P. Dutton, 1983, Editor: Alan Sonfist
Nature: The End of Art, distributed by Thames and Hudson, published by Gil Ori, 2004 republished in Europe and Asia
Included in cataloges of major exhibitions: dokumenta6, the Venice Biennale, and the Paris Biennale
HUMAN/NATURE Art and the Environment Part 2, Alan Sonfist "Time Landscape (1965-1978-Present)"
Overview of Publications
Flickr page of wallyg
Alan Sonfist
Alan Sonfist is a New York City based American artist most often associated with the Land or Earth Art movement.He is best known for his "Time Landscape" found on the corner of West Houston Street and LaGuardia Place in New York City's Greenwich Village. Proposed in 1965, "Time Landscape" the...
(1946- ). It consists of plants that were native to this area in pre-colonial times. These planted were replanted here until 1978, on a rectangular plot of 25' x 40' situated in lower Manhattan at the northeast corner of La Guardia Place and West Houston Street.
"When it was first planted, Time Landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
portrayed the three stages of forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
growth from grasses to saplings to grown trees. The southern part of the plot represented the youngest stage and now has birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
trees and beaked hazelnut
Hazelnut
A hazelnut is the nut of the hazel and is also known as a cob nut or filbert nut according to species. A cob is roughly spherical to oval, about 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell. A filbert is more elongated, being about twice...
shrubs, with a layer of wildflowers beneath. The center features a small grove
Grove (nature)
A grove is a small group of trees with minimal or no undergrowth, such as a sequoia grove, or a small orchard planted for the cultivation of fruits or nuts...
of beech trees (grown from saplings transplanted from Sonfist’s favorite childhood park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
in the Bronx) and a woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
with red cedar
Juniperus virginiana
Juniperus virginiana is a species of juniper native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, east of the Great Plains...
, black cherry
Black Cherry
Prunus serotina, commonly called black cherry, wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a woody plant species belonging to the genus Prunus...
, and witch hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
above groundcover of mugwort, Virginia creeper, aster, pokeweed
Pokeweed
The pokeweeds, also known as pokebush, pokeberry, pokeroot, poke sallet, polk salad, polk salat, polk sallet, inkberry or ombú, comprise the genus Phytolacca, perennial plants native to North America, South America, East Asia and New Zealand...
, and milkweed. The northern area is a mature woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
dominated by oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
s, with scattered white ash
White Ash
For another species referred to as white ash, see Eucalyptus fraxinoides.Fraxinus americana is a species of Fraxinus native to eastern North America found in mesophytic hardwood forests from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, south to northern Florida, and southwest to eastern...
and American elm trees. Among the numerous other species in this miniforest are oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, sassafras
Sassafras
Sassafras is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.-Overview:...
, sweetgum, and tulip trees
Liriodendron
Liriodendron is a genus of two species of characteristically large deciduous trees in the magnolia family .These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their large flowers superficially resembling tulips, but are closely related to magnolias rather than lilies, the...
, arrowwood
Arrowwood
-Plants:*Cornus genus in the Cornaceae family; especially Cornus florida*Viburnum genus in the Adoxaceae family; especially Viburnum dentatum*Woody plants in the Caprifoliaceae family-Other:*Arrowwood, Alberta, a village in Canada...
and dogwood
Dogwood
The genus Cornus is a group of about 30-60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods. Most dogwoods are deciduous trees or shrubs, but a few species are nearly herbaceous perennial subshrubs, and a few of the woody species are evergreen...
shrubs, bindweed
Bindweed
Bindweed may refer to:* Convolvulaceae , a family including about 60 genera and more than 1,650 species** Calystegia , a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants...
and catbrier vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
s, and violets."
Timeline
1965 Proposal of the Project.1978 The Time Landscape project is unveiled by Sonfist as a living monument to the native forest that once was Manhattan.
2005 NURTURE NEW YORKS NATURE INC. brings out a second edition to its landmark series in honor of the 40th anniversary of Alan Sonfist's Time Landscape.
Until September 2007 (Not clear since when) homeless people had found a way to climb over a barrier and to use the Time Landcape as a hangout place.
2007 September: Time Landscape is "cleaned up" by Alan Sonfist, volunteers and people from the Soho Alliance, Parks Department. Even though Alan Sonfist states on this occasion that Time Landscape is an open lab, not an enclosed landscape that the intention never was to keep out all non-native species, but rather to see how they come into the space with time – non native species are removed at this occasion ("morning glories clinging to the fence troubled many"). Garbage and things that had been in use by homeless are removed. Another reason that the Parks Department wants the underbushes to be cleared out is, to keep people from hiding there.
Further reading
Find it on the map of the Center of Land Use InterpretationCleanup time for Time Landscape indigenous garden By Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke, The Villager, Volume 77, Number 17, Sept. 26 - Oct. 2, 2007
Publications
"Natural Phenomena as Public Monuments" essay by Alan Sonfist 1968Publication of his lecture series at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1969
ART IN THE LAND: A Critical Anthology of Environmental Art, E.P. Dutton, 1983, Editor: Alan Sonfist
Nature: The End of Art, distributed by Thames and Hudson, published by Gil Ori, 2004 republished in Europe and Asia
Included in cataloges of major exhibitions: dokumenta6, the Venice Biennale, and the Paris Biennale
HUMAN/NATURE Art and the Environment Part 2, Alan Sonfist "Time Landscape (1965-1978-Present)"
Overview of Publications
Photos
New York daily photo blogspotFlickr page of wallyg