“One is liable to see things in maps that are not there. One must be careful of the Hypothetical monsters that lurk between the maps latitudes.”
– Robert Smithson
The CLUI straddles a curious position between research and art practice. It was this idiosyncrasy that interested me last year at the Whitney Biennial.
The CLUI has never made any claims as to being an art practice (that I know of) or even creating a project that is labeled “art”. They are however watched as well as granted money by arts foundations as well as land use organizations (in fact the CLUI has received a NEA grant – noteworthy in itself for a “non-art” organization). Practitioners from related fields, as well as academics are not quite as quick to accept the CLUI because of the less than traditional methods that are used. A quick case study about the CLUI could be made for the Nevada desert, in particular the area we know as “Area 51” and The Nellis Range.
Nevada has the greatest expanse of restricted land in the country – as well as some of the most secretive parts of military industry. The Nellis Range is operated by the Air Force which uses the area to conduct live tests (cluster bombing fake villages and the like) as well as who knows what else. An interesting note, parts of The Nellis Range don’t even officially exist on the map. Employees stationed at the range are flown in from a private terminal in Las Vegas airport. To get access to the site The CLUI conducted over 9 years of research which ended with photographing signage claiming restricted access. The centers assessment of the area ended up relying on detailed descriptions of closed gates and guard houses. It should be noted their method never once involved hoping the fence – instead they circumnavigated the range, while noting that there is a good view from the fence.
I think that it is this part – mapping the unmapped is what interests me most.
Some other events they have directed include “The Tour of the Monuments of the Great American Void” including the Bonneville Salt Flats and, “Margins in Our Midst: A Journey into Irwindale” A tour bus outing in which they told the passengers; “We will be going to some of the most banal and dramatic landscapes of Los Angeles, and by the time we are done, we won’t be able to tell the difference.”
The Center is notorious in not taking a political or should I say accountable stand in the actual use of land. The mundane of the administrative is really the focus – this acts as a substitute for the drama of the tangible (or the beautiful). This approach – using some of the smaller strategies from conceptual art and looking at the edges of our cultural use of the space we live in is the open ended map that The CLUI is creating.
Worth noting:
The CLUI has a newsletter – The Lay of the Land. This should be interesting reading in the long term – in the sort term I suggest you try the web site http://www.clui.org
Nice post. I’ve never really thought about the administrative side of CLUI as being part of their mystique/schtick. But now you say it, I’m slapping my head.
By the way, have you seen their recently published book, Overlook? It’s quite nice.
I’ve not seen your blog before, but it’s bookmarked now.
I have not seen “overlook” (I will be soon though) thanks for the tip. I think CLUI are seriously interesting as a collective of artists especially as the work is not about the collective (which I think is too common for “collectives” – think art club 2000) but the lack of drama is what pointed me towards the “administrative” thought.
Thanks for the kind words.
M