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Herbert Bayer
Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks
Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Park, 742 E. Titus, Kent WA (map)
(photo: John Hoge, 1982)
introduction
As a Bauhaus master, Herbert Bayer’s entire career was dedicated to integrating artistic concerns into the everyday operations of society. With the Earthworks, he created a much loved public park, a stormwater detention dam and a modernist masterpiece. Installed in 1982, the Earthworks was immediately lauded for its fusion of art and infrastructure, making the installation a powerful precedent for engineers, landscape architects and artists.
A series of sculpted spaces that feel both ancient and modern, the Earthworks’ pure forms—cones, circles, lines and berms—are built into the alluvial delta at the mouth of Mill Creek Canyon. Grass and concrete, a wood bridge and steps: these are the materials at work, joined by the natural forces of Mill Creek itself.
restoration
Today, the same issues that necessitated building the Earthworks 25 years ago have intensified dramatically. The regulations for the dam's spillway have increased from a 100-year storm event to a 10,000-year storm event required us to alter the artist’s original design in the summer of 2009. Also, since the goal of restoring salmon runs has been a success, fishery regulations make it much more difficult to remove vegetation impacting the sightlines of the artwork.
A dam in the ordinary sense constitutes a radical interference with the natural configuration of the land. My intent was, therefore, to give the dams a natural appearance conforming to the landscape (surroundings) and to become integral parts of the landscape being created.
– Herbert Bayer, King County Arts Commission newsletter, August 1982
The Kent Arts Commission is committed to honoring the physical and conceptual aspects that comprise Herbert Bayer's "original intent." In as much as he created a physical place, he also created a model for interdisciplinary collaboration. In this spirit, the Kent Arts Commission asked a University of Washington Studio to collaborate with Kent Public Works to address new storm water regulations and vegetation management. The Studio also reviewed archival documents to clarify Bayer's vision for his project, as it was designed and as it has aged.
exhibition
With tongue firmly in cheek, the channeling herbert project seeks contemporary comment on Bayer's design in the face of change. As part of the 25th Anniversary Earthworks Celebration, the Kent Arts Commission invited renown artists, landscape architects and historians to participate in the exhibit channeling herbert: earthworks · artworks · public works. Future phases of this project will include a documentary video and printed publication.
The Kent Arts Commission also nominated the Earthworks for City Landmark Designation. Partnering with King County's Office of Historic Preservation brought the spirit of collaboration full circle, since the impetus for Bayer's Earthworks was King County's groundbreaking Earthworks: Land Reclamation as Sculpture symposium in 1979.
directions
Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Park, 742 E. Titus, Kent WA (map)
tour
South King County is home to three iconic examples of earth art: Herbert Bayer’s Earthworks, Robert Morris’s Johnson Pit #30, and Lorna Jordan’s Waterworks Gardens. Visit all three sites for a view of green infrastructure, environmental art, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. (printable pdf)
links
Twenty-five years ago, in the younger, bolder days of Washington's public-art programs, the mayor of a small city south of Seattle latched onto a grand vision for a public-works project. The engineering need was straightforward: a dam that would prevent stormwaters from deluging the city.
from "Work of art, work of Earth"
by Sheila Farr, Seattle Times art critic
continue reading
Herbert Bayer was born in the hamlet of Haag, Austria, on April 5, 1900. His father, a government revenue officer, and mother encouraged young Herbert’s interest in nature and art, allowing him to roam into the hills and mountains near his childhood home in Linz with his sketchbook.
from "Herbert Bayer (1900-1985): Profile of an Environmental Artist"
by Catherine Maggio and Brice Maryman, The Cultural Landscape Foundation continue reading
participate
The Kent Arts Commission invites you to join the newly founded Friends of the Herbert Bayer Earthworks. Sign-up today to receive information about volunteer and donation opportunities.
Please contact Cheryl dos Remédios, Visual Arts Coordinator, Kent Cultural Division at cdosremedios@ci.kent.wa.us or 253.856.5058 with questions.