Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison

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Helen Mayer Harrison (born July 1, 1927 in Queens , New York City , † March 24, 2018 in Santa Cruz , California ) and Newton Harrison (born 1932 in Brooklyn , New York City) were an artist duo married in 1953. They are representatives of Land Art or Nature Art .

life and work

Helen Mayer Harrison graduated from New York University with a degree in philosophy and education, which she graduated with a master's in 1953 . She later took over the management of the first American Montessori school .

Newton Harrison trained as a sculptor with Michael Lantz in 1946, then studied at Yale University and in 1952 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts . After working as a sculptor, he became an assistant at the Yale School of Architecture in 1964 and obtained his master's degree in 1965.

Since 1967 the residence of the duo La Jolla was in California. In 1970 they started exhibiting together. The Harrisons held a joint professorship at the University of California, San Diego until they retired .

“Our work is either narratives that often set real projects in motion, or stories from projects we have been involved in, and our place of work is cities. There we create connections between city districts by means of promenades or find ways to lead animals under expressways. We suggest covering rivers enclosed in concrete, pouring new topsoil over them and thus regaining natural river valleys. We develop proposals on how biologically dead rivers can be brought back to life, plan biotopes on their banks and recommend reclaiming landfills and thereby reconnecting cities and rivers. We always include forgotten areas and barely perceived regions. Recently we started to work not only with other artists, but also with ecologists, landscape planners and engineers. "

- The Harrisons, 1987

Exhibitions (selection)

The Harrisons exhibited in museums, galleries and exhibition halls such as the Ludwig Forum for International Art , the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein , Berlin, the Bluecoat Gallery in Liverpool and the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany . In 1976 and 1980 you participated in the Venice Biennale , in 1985 in the São Paulo Biennale, in 1987 in documenta 8 in Kassel and in 1991 in Artec'91 , the Biennale in Nagoya, Japan.

literature

  • Green landscapes. Vision: the world as a garden Authors Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison, Campus non-fiction book, 1999 ISBN 978-3-59336-0-379

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. In Memoriam: Helen Mayer Harrison (1927-2018). University of California, Santa Cruz, April 18, 2018, accessed June 20, 2018 .
  2. ^ The Harrison Studio , accessed February 23, 2016.
  3. documenta 8 catalog: Volume 1: Essays; Volume 2: Catalog page 94; Volume 3: artist book; Kassel 1987, ISBN 3-925272-13-5
  4. Art as Science | Science as Art Newton Harrison Retrieved on April 13, 2015