Doug Aitken
Born in Redondo Beach, California, artist Doug Aitken is well known for his large-scale, immersive installations and video art that “question and intersect with the mechanisms of everyday life,” (Aesthetica, pg. 68). Aitken’s work continues to significantly change the relationship between art and the environment, through participating the late 20th century movement promoting the rise of time-based mediums, video, installation and performance art. Traditionally, artwork is enjoyed from a distance, perhaps observed in a museum or gallery. Aitken’s work transcends traditional viewing standards and invites audiences to immerse themselves by physically engaging with the landscape in which the works are presented. To fully experience his work, one would be required to either tour the indoor exhibit room, or journey through the surrounding outdoor landscape. Common themes within Aitken’s work include the infinite process of transformation and renewal, the exploration of non-traditional platforms and materials, investigations into role of art within society and its technological shift, embracing dichotomy between natural and manmade experiences, and limitless perception and possibilities. This is true for his numerous time-based installations, including Underwater Pavilions (2016), Mirage (2017), The Garden (2017), and New Horizons (2019), as well as within his numerous video pieces, such as Electric Earth (1999).
Underwater Pavilions (2016) is one of Aitken's most immersive pieces to date. By physically submerging three geometric sculptures, each twelve feet in diameter, comprised of materials harmonious with the surrounding seascape and anchoring them to the ocean floor of southern California, Aitken intended to create a portal connecting humanities idealist conceptions of ocean ecosystems to that of stark reality. Aitken partnered with Parley for the Oceans, and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) to present a unique, interactive experience for sea-goers of all types, as the pavilions were designed to be large enough for visitors to swim through. If unable to view the work underwater, the piece was also made available to view on a live-video display, for all to enjoy. Conceptualized as a “living artwork,” limitless perspectives can be observed within the Underwater Pavilions, as the refracting light changes throughout the day, thus reflecting the cyclic fluidity of environmental awareness. Overall, this piece effectively highlights the disruptive nature of human activity in the ocean and calls to mind the potentially disastrous consequences of our continued carelessness.
(Doug Aitken, Underwater Pavilions, 2016, installation view, Avalon, CA.
Courtesy of the Artist, Parley for the Oceans and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles)
Citation: Doug Aitken, Underwater Pavilions, 2016, Installation/ Land-art/ Sculpture, 12 ft (diameter), Run time: ~1 minute 3 seconds (video of installation)
In continuation with the theme of land-art as a reflection of the relationship between societal ideals and the outward environment, Aitkens Mirage (2017) intends to reflect aspirations originally projected onto the American west through the fully mirrored form of a 1400-1700 square foot, American ranch-style suburban home. The architecture of the California Ranch Style, unique to the west, was influenced by the ideas of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who believed "architecture should be both and of the landscape,” (Doug Aitken Workshop). By breaking down the streamlined, commercialized shapes of a ranch-style house into geometric lines, the sculpture continuously moves in-and-out of focus within the expansive surrounding landscape of the Southern California desert (and the rolling hills of Gstaad, Switzerland, as the work has since been relocated there). Stripped of all windows, doors, and personal possessions that may have once signaled its use as a residence, the now-vacant structure bridges the gap between the vices of personal possession and the freedoms of the surrounding outside environment. In constant flux, the unlimited perceptual variations within this work provide completely unique experiences, and no one perspective is more greater than another. Each experience of Mirage as a “living artwork” is completely unique. Through purposeful implementation of full reflective paneling and familiar architectural design, Aitkens creates a stable human-kaleidoscope, “reflecting both the dream of nature as a pure, uninhabited state and the pursuit of its conquest,” (Doug Aitken Workshop).
(Doug Aitken, Mirage, 2017, installation view, Palm Springs, CA. Courtesy of Lance Gerber and Dakota Higgins)
Citation: Doug Aitken, Mirage, Desert X, 2019, Installation/ Site-Specific Land-art, Palm Springs, California, 1400-1700 sq ft, Run time: ~2 minutes (video of installation)
Aitken’s unique work titled The Garden (2017), places a strong emphasis on participation within a "living," time-based installation. Presented within a warehouse in Aarhus, Denmark, The Garden is comprised of a rectangular structure with two distinct aspects: a sterile, stark-white glass chamber, with bright lights, filled with modern white furniture that is contrasted by the surrounding layer of dense foliage resembling a thriving botanical jungle, wrapping around the glass room. Upon first glance, Aitken appears to juxtapose the idea of synthetic and organic life. However, in addition to observing the work, audience members were allowed to interact with it, and were provided with batons. In the spirit of creating a “living artwork,” participants were able to use their batons to destroy anything within the work itself. This activity continued to explore the dichotomy between a natural environment and a manmade experience. According to Aitken himself, the goal of this feature was to have the piece be “used as an anger room,” as he was “interested in how the natural landscape plays a part in this world we occupy... offering a sanctuary for unlimited freedom or anarchy…” (Aesthetica, pg. 71). Such anarchy can been seen already taking place within the real world, outside of The Garden, which speaks volumes of the truly current and impactful meaning behind the creation of this work.
(Installation view of Doug Aitken, The Garden, 2017. Courtesy the artist and ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum. | Anders Sune Berg)
Citation: Doug Aitken, The Garden, 2017, Installation/ Land-art/ Sculpture, 290 x 250 mm, Run time: 1 minute 15 seconds (video of installation)
Aitken’s more recent endeavor, New Horizon (2019), is a unique “living sculpture,” that is part of a multifaceted art event revolutionizing the art industry of the 21st century. This work re-conceptualizes the great American road-trip by traveling the state of Massachusetts by hot air balloon. In order to build the main body of the balloon (100ft tall), Aitken’s consulted with engineers at NASA to develop semi-mirrored textile material. According to the artist himself, the goal of this work was to activate “the topography by using the concept of disruption; encouraging moments that are uncontrollable and unexpected… you see this large sculpture floating by, completely unannounced and randomly placed like a wedge in the plane of reality” (Aesthetica, pg. 72). At night, Aitken used the power of LED lights, hand-sewn to the semi-mirrored material, to continue the work’s goal of presenting a continuously changing landscape, where each reflected perspective would be different- similar to the intentions of his previous installation: Mirage (2017). Landing at sites managed by The Trustees, a pioneer organization in environmental conservation, each viewing of the balloon would become a unique event contributing to the continuously developing project of New Horizon, as curious passers-by could not help but stop and stare in shock-and-awe at the curiously reflective structure.
(Doug Aitken, New Horizon, installation shot at Castle Hill, 2019. Courtesy of Above Summit).
Citation: Doug Aitken, New Horizon, 2019. Hot air balloon with reflective surface and kinetic light sculpture, multiple locations across Massachusetts, 100 ft tall, Run time: ~45 seconds (video of sculpture)
Aitken has continuously called to mind the interactions between natural and manmade within the landscape of art through his video compositions, most notably with Electric Earth. This 9-minute narrative, loosely strung together across eight screens presented in an expansive warehouse, explores the urban landscape through the experiences of a single character. This piece is a visual collage comprised of empty streets, human activities, fantasy, and reality, accompanied by mechanical noises. All of these separate elements combine to create the implied sense of an underlying urban pulse, that is affecting the single character serving to guide us through each scene. One striking narrative begins with our guide stating how he dances to an unseen rhythm, and the visuals and audio accompaniment begin to pick up speed. As the visuals start to increase in intensity, the single character starts to seemingly convulse once the speed becomes too extreme. This information overload is characteristic of Aitken’s work, as he intends to find the space between the manmade and natural experiences we have on a daily basis. The visuals within Electric Earth are not only intending to capture the urban Los Angeles environment, but also highlight the city’s strong pulse that may have gone otherwise gone unnoticed.
Installation view of Doug Aitken: Electric Earth, September 10, 2016–January 15, 2017 at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, courtesy of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles | Joshua White
Citation: Doug Aitken, Electric Earth, 1999 (Original)/ 2016-2017 (Survey), Video/Film, Run time: ~36 seconds (Original)/ 9 minutes (Survey)
All in all, Doug Aitken utilizes unique, large-scale, immersive installations and films to highlight the limitless perspectives and continually changing relationship between natural and manmade realities, while also raising awareness of increasing environmental issues facing modern society.
Bibliography
Aesthetica. (n.d.). Art for Connectivity. Doug Aitken. Aesthetica Magazine Ltd.
Dietz, A. (n.d.). Doug Aitken: Electric Earth. Art Papers Magazine.
“Doug Aitken Mirage.” Dougaitkenmirage.com, Doug Aitken Workshop, www.dougaitkenmirage.com/mirage#doug-aitken-mirage.
“Doug Aitken: Public Exhibitions: Underwater Pavilions 2016.” 303 Gallery, www.303gallery.com/public- exhibitions/doug-aitken11?view=slider#9.
Nevarez, Julia. “Urban Screens Reader.” Academia.edu, www.academia.edu/1947324/Urban_screens_reader.
Ohanesian, Liz. “Electric Earth: Doug Aitken Explores How We Communicate with Nature and with Each Other.” KCET, 19 Jan. 2021, www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/electric-earth-doug-aitken-explores-how-we-communicate-with-nature-and-with-each-other.
Ohanesian, Liz. “Electric Earth: Doug Aitken Explores How We Communicate with Nature and with Each Other.” KCET, 19 Jan. 2021, www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/electric-earth-doug-aitken-explores-how-we-communicate-with-nature-and-with-each-other.
KCETOnline, director. S9 E3: Electric Earth - The Art of Doug Aitken. YouTube, YouTube, 20 Mar. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nG_s7qk1hc.
Rubin, David S. “Parsing Humanity's Place on Earth Through Art.” Link TV, 27 Mar. 2018, www.linktv.org/shows/artbound/doug-aitken-changing-how-we-relate-to-art-and-the-environment.
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