Hog Pasture: Survival Piece #1, 1970-71

In the exhibition, which was held in mid-Winter, the green of the work, the smallness of the room, the quality of the light, the odor of the air attracted a continuing audience. The earth was made as part of the earlier earth-making ritual. As a consequence for a while, hog pasture grew at about half an inch a day. We attempted to introduce a small hog to our pasture. The museum refused.

Commissioned by Boston Museum of Fine Arts for the Exhibition "Earth, Air, Fire and Water". An 8'x12'x18" wooden container of earth with light box of equal size above, planted with R. Shumway Seedsman's Annual Hog Pasture Mix. Exhibition catalogue: Earth, Air, Fire and Water". This piece was our first grassland work. Followed over the years by many others, particularly; ArtPark 1977; the Endangered Meadows 1996; and Greenhouse Britain 2007.