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Grounds


Alternative Landscape Components

2006
Trees, bushes, rocks made of painted steel, steel drums, PVC pipe, acrylic
Area covered: 1/4 acre (1,012 sq. m)


Architectural Cactus Grove, #1-6

2008
Water-jet-cut aluminum, translucent fiberglass panels, colored aluminum sheet, anodized aluminum, diamond plate aluminum, roofing panels, grating
Area covered: 1/2 acre (2,023 sq. m)
Architectural Cactus #6 gift of The Watermill Center, New York, NY


Dead Furrow

1967/2016
Wood surfaced with organic pigment, PVC pipe
Fabricated at Storm King Art Center
10 x 40 x 35' (3 x 12.2 x 10.7 m)


Electric Kiss

2008
Rolled stainless steel, colored cast half-round acrylic rod
10 x 10 x 10' (3 x 3 x 3 m)


Entrance to a Garden

2002
Painted steel, perforated stainless steel, bolts, landscaping material
16 x 10 x 8' (4.9 x 3 x 2.4 m)


A Sound Enclosed Land Area

1969
Recording of clear, evenly spaced footprints walking a selected area in Milan, Italy, for a specific time following a map
2-track stereo reel-to-reel recording, outdoor and indoor speakers


Wishing the Mountains Madness

1977/2016
Painted wood star units, each 48 x 48" (122 x 122 cm)
Fabricated at Storm King Art Center
Area covered: two acres (8,094 sq. m)

Museum Building


Adios

2006
Color photography
32 x 32" (81.3 x 81.3 cm)


Alternative Landscape Components

2006
Pencil, colored pencil, and oil wash on graph paper
8 1/2 x 11" (21.6 x 28 cm)


Avoid the Issues

1974
Fireworks Sign / Potassium nitrate / Location: Looking east across East River to Brooklyn / Time 6:45 P.M. September / Color: Red and Green / Size: 2' x 14' / Duration: 1 minute

Color photography
24 x 40" (61 x 101.6 cm)


Beehive Volcano

1978/89
Colored hand-blown glass, speakers, digital audio
Five elements, overall 24" x 16 1/2' x 18' (61 cm x 5 m x 5.5 m)


Boundary Split

1968
Location: St. John River. Fort Kent, Maine. Series of cuts perpendicular to the Time Boundary-U.S.A./Canada. Materials: Gasoline powered chain saw.
Dimensions: 4' x 4' x 25'.

Color photography, hand-stamped topographic map, aerial map, text on rag board
60 x 40" (152.4 x 101.6 cm)


Cactus #6

2007
Pencil, colored pencil, oil wash, and metallic pigments over ink-jet print, collage text dry mounted on paper
38 x 27 1/2 x 1 1/2"
(95.5 x 69.9 x 3.8 cm)
Gift of Dennis Oppenheim Estate


Dead Furrow

1967
Structure for viewing land. Pre-cast concrete to be located on flat land with at least 1 mile clear land on all sides.
Sepia line print
18 x 24" (45.7 x 61 cm)


Directed Seeding/Canceled Crop

1969
Reduced route configuration from Finsterwolde to Nieuwe Schans plotted on a 154 x 267 meter field and used to dictate seeding pattern for common wheat. (April 1969) The cultivated media from the two diagonal cuts is isolated from further processing. This raw material is to be packed in 25 pound bags. (Sept. 1969)

Color and black-and-white photography, aerial map, text on rag board
60 x 40" (152.4 x 101.6 cm)





Electric Kisses

2009
Acrylic, steel, 10' high. Catanzaro, Italy
Pencil, colored pencil, oil wash, and oil pastel on paper
24 x 25" (61 x 63.5 cm)
Private Collection, San Francisco


Electric Kisses

2009
Acrylic, steel, 10' high. Catanzaro, Italy
Pencil, colored pencil, oil wash, and oil pastel on paper
24 x 25" (61 x 63.5 cm)


Electric Kisses

2009
Acrylic, steel, 10' high. Catanzaro, Italy
Pencil, colored pencil, oil wash, and oil pastel on paper
24 x 25" (61 x 63.5 cm)


Gallery Transplant

2009
Floor plan of Gallery #6. Sculpture room: Andrew Dickson White Museum, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. transplanted to Campus Grounds. Activated surface: snow/grass.
Duration of limits: 4 hours

Black-and-white photography, hand-stamped topographic map, hand-marked photographic floor plan
60 x 40" (152.4 x 101.6 cm)


Landslide

1968
Location: Long Island Expressway, Exit 52. Materials: Right angled boards/earth. Dimensions: 1000' long.

Color and black-and-white photography, aerial map, text on rag board
60 x 40" (152.4 x 101.6 cm)


Love

2006
Color photography
32 x 32" (81.3 x 81.3 cm)


Narrow Mind

1974
Location: Newark, N.J. Materials: Red strontium nitrate flares, railroad track / Dimensions: 4' x 75'
Color photography
24 x 40" (61 x 101.6 cm)


Preliminary Test for 65' Vertical Penetration

1970
Whitewater, Wisconsin
“Tests were performed to condition my body for a specific task, that of passing vertically through air and water from a 65' peak in Idaho. When using your body in this way, your best work is in direct proportion to the best you can do.” —Dennis Oppenheim, 1971
Black-and-white photography
40 x 30" (101.6 x 76.2 cm)


Pretty Ideas

1974
Red, green, yellow, strontium nitrate flares (1974) / 10 minutes / 75' x 850' / Exit 56, L.I. Expwy., N.Y.
Color photography
24 x 40" (61 x 101.6 cm)


Radicality

1974
Strontium nitrate flares (1974) / 10 min. / 15' x 100' / Gravel slope near Exit 52, L.I. Expwy, N.Y.
Color photography
24 x 40" (61 x 101.6 cm)




The Shirt Factory

2008
Wood, acrylic, steel, light, water pump
35 x 30 x 15" (89 x 76.2 x 38.1 cm)


Sincerely

2006
Color photography
32 x 32" (81.3 x 81.3 cm)


A Sound Enclosed Land Area

1969
Recording of clear, evenly spaced footprints walking a selected area in Milan, Italy, for a specific time following a map
2-track stereo reel-to-reel recording, outdoor and indoor speakers


Star Exchange

1971
“We measure each other's outstretched bodies and plot the dimensions on the ground using standard white lime. After remaining within these tolerances for a short while, we exchange spaces. Erik (9 years old) advances and assumes my dimensions. In return, I force my body to fit his physical limits.” —Dennis Oppenheim, 1971
Performance with Dennis and Erik Oppenheim in Aspen, Colorado, recorded on 1/2" black-and-white videotape, converted to digital file on continuous play
25 mins.


Toward Becoming a Scarecrow

1971
“Like a moving snowball the body slowly builds a skin, based on where it has been. After emerging from heavy foliage, I need not look back. The 1000' path is clearly read from my outer shell. My body has collected remnants of its past. I have become that direction.” —Dennis Oppenheim, 1971
Performance in Düsseldorf on October 31, 1971, recorded on 35mm colors slides, sequenced and synced with soundtrack, converted to digital file on continuous play


Tree-House Structure for Poisoned Soil #1, #2, #3

1978
Wood, silk trees, real and synthetic plant material, fiberglass, perforated metals, baked enamel on steel, rope ladders
Three elements, overall 12 x 9 x 6' (3.6 x 2.7 x 1.8 m)


Two Jumps for Dead Dog Creek

1970/2016
“Repeat jumps. A specific energy distribution dictated by a land form. For a split second, my physical tolerance was fused with an exterior location” —Dennis Oppenheim, 1971
Recreated using the distance of the original standing broad jumps, with artist's caption rewritten on two-by-fours that border the imprint of the jumps
Sand and two-by-fours
12 x 52 x 59 1/2" (30.5 x 122 x 151 cm)


Wishing the Mountains Madness

1977
One of three locations. Star units 4 feet by 4 feet. Area covered, four acres. Missoula, Montana.
Color and black-and-white photography, hand-stamped topographic map, text
48" x 18' (122 cm x 5.5 m)