Lightning Field
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| A piece of land art in the plains of western New Mexico consisting of hundreds of stainless steel poles projecting from the ground. The poles, averaging around 20 feet in height, have been known to attract occasional lightning strikes. The piece was built by the artist Walter De Maria in 1977 to a degree of precision of 1/25th of an inch. Rows of 20 poles extend for one mile, while rows of 16 extend for a kilometer, making a square grid of standard and metric proportions. The pointed tops of the poles meet at an even plane above the ground, said to be exact enough that if a hypothetical piece of glass were placed on the sculpture, all the tips of the poles would touch it. The piece, and much of the land around it, is owned by the Dia Center, of New York, the same organization that owns Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty, and has supported other major art land art projects. Visitors stay overnight in an elegantly rustic cabin on the site, after being left stranded there by Dia Center staff. |
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100 miles SW of Albuquerque near Quemado
(POINT(-108.49252223969 34.342000981285))
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NM
Catron County |
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| Located northeast of Quemado, off State Highway 603, on private property. All visits have to be arranged through the Dia Foundation of New York, which asks that you stay overnight at the site. For a fee, you are met at Quemado and driven to a cabin at the site. Photography is not permitted. Contact the Dia Foundation to make reservations. http://www.lightningfield.org Local Address: The Dia Foundation, P.O. Box 207, Quemado, New Mexico 87829. Visiting season is May 1 - October 31. |
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http://www.lightningfield.org
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Cultural, Land Art
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