Programme 9: Outside In

The Art Works

Title: A Line made by Walking
Artist: Richard Long
Medium: Photograph and pencil on board
Date: 1967

Rather than making images of the landscape Richard Long (born 1945) works in the landscape, manipulating it and changing its appearance, even if the change is temporary. His work often takes the form of a walk – an experience that takes place through space and over time – and he records his progress either through words or photography. This work involved walking along one line, going up and down until the grass had worn away. Clearly the grass would grow back, but the photograph has recorded the result of his actions.

Title: Red Slate Circle
Artist: Richard Long
Medium: Slate
Date: 1988

As a part of some of his walks Long would rearrange elements of the landscape – for example he would ‘organise’ scattered stones into neat circles. Gradually over time these might become dispersed. He also started to collect stones from one location and move them to another. This could include transporting them to an art gallery, as it has with this red slate from the United States, which has found its home in Tate Modern. Elements of one place are gathered in another, thus making a link between the two places. They also change the appearance of the gallery. In itself the work is like an image of a landscape, like a miniature mountain range – a small-scale sculpture of the Rockies, perhaps, or a section of the surface of Mars.

Title: Waterfall Line
Artist: Richard Long
Medium: China clay
Date: 2000

As in the other works Long’s actions are clearly recorded in this piece. It is made using white China clay from Cornwall – again material from one place is being used to influence another. After one of the walls of Tate Modern had been painted black, the clay was made into a form of paint by mixing it with water. Standing on a ladder Long rapidly applied it to the top of the wall in a long rectangular strip. The swirling marks of his fingers are clearly visible. Underneath the frantic gestures of his hands the clay has splashed down the walls, creating the waterfall of the title.