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Herbert Bayer at Earthworks Park
(photo: John Hoge, 1982)
articles
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.
"Work of art, work of Earth"
by Sheila Farr, Seattle Times art critic
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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.
"Herbert Bayer (1900-1985): Profile of an Environmental Artist"
by Catherine Maggio and Brice Maryman, The Cultural Landscape Foundation
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Formal recognition of historic properties through landmark designation is typically confined to sites that are at least 40 years old or older – and rarely is a property found to be of such exceptional significance that the age criterion is waived. But such was the case on April 24, 2008 when the King County Landmarks Commission, acting for the City of Kent, designated the Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks as a City of KentLandmark. Nominated by the Kent Arts Commission, the Earthworks is the City’s first designated landmark.
"Earthworks Designated Historic Landmark"
by Julie Koler and Cheryl dos Remedios
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In 1979, the King County Arts Commission convened a symposium entitled Earthworks: Land Reclamation as Sculpture, and invited eight artists to create reclamation plans, choosing from more than 100 industrial sites lying fallow in the county. The commission hoped to address the ecological issues at each site while converting the landscapes into usable community spaces through earthwork designs.
"Landslide 2008 Marvels of Modernism: Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks"
by Brice Maryman and Cheryl dos Remedios,
Kent Arts Commission and The Cultural Landscape Foundation
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documents
final 2008 dam construction drawings, courtesy City of Kent Environmental Engineering
landmark nomination, by Brice Maryman on behalf of the Kent Arts Commission
landmark designation, courtesy Kent Landmarks Commission
channeling herbert, collection of essays on the significance of the Herbert Bayer Earthworks
For more information, please contact Cheryl dos Remédios, Visual Arts Coordinator, Kent Cultural Division.
cdosremedios@ci.kent.wa.usor 253.856.5050.