Patricia Johanson and the Re-Invention of Public Environmental Art, 1958-2010

Impeccably researched and richly detailed, this book addresses the issue of translation between visual arts and landscape design in the 50-year career of American painter and environmental artist Patricia Johanson. Exploring the artist's search for an "art of the real" as a member of the postwar New York art world, and how such pursuit led to her from painting and sculpture to public garden and environmental art, it demonstrates that visual translation cannot be understood solely through the works of art, instead attention must be paid to the process of creation. This book is an insightful attempt to confront a crucial question in the history of art through the work of a contemporary artist. Following Johanson's artistic development, from its formation in the 1960s American contemporary art scene to the very present day, across the fields of art, architecture, garden, civil engineering and environmental aesthetics, this research investigates the process of art creation in interdisciplinary perspective. The artist's concept of nature is highlighted as fundamental to her art, and particular impacts of Chinese art and thought on her work unveiled. Based on extensive study in the artist's personal archive, Xin Wu offers us the first ever comprehensive research of Johanson's long and productive career, including built and unbuilt works in the United States, Brazil, Kenya, and Korea. Contents: Transformation: from painting to sculpture, 1958-68; Invention of art forms: house and garden commission, 1969; Translating the order of nature, 1970-75; Garden metamorphoses, 1975-85; Functionality into public place; 'The garden of art' in garden cities; Conclusion' Notes; Bibliography; Index.