TIME and SPACE

“Time and Space” Land Art Park, Cappadocia, Turkey Artist : Andrew Rogers Filmed by : Omer Gokcen Bayrakcı The ‘Rhythms of Life’ Land Art Project Rhythms of Life comprises 51 large scale stone structures/geoglyphs. Its creation has involved over 7,500 people in 16 countries across 7 continents, spanning a period of 16 years. These structures are in exotic disparate locations including deserts, fjords, gorges, national parks and altiplano. It is the largest global land art undertaking in the world. These connected drawings on the surface of the Earth refer to the physical building blocks of history and civilization, while addressing the interconnection of humanity throughout time and space. The Rhythms of Life Land Art structures are a reflection of our existence in time and space. The process of building structures establishes communal distinctions and linkages. These structures act as catalysts for reflection within their special space. There is blurring of the physical and conceptual boundaries between structure and environment, and exploring the search for heritage. Time and Space in Cappadocia, Turkey, is a significant part of the Rhythms of Life land art project. Comprising thirteen major structures, most built by hand. It is the largest contemporary land art park in the world. The lines of these structures measure approximately 7 kilometers (4 miles) in length and comprise more than 10,700 tons of stone. These structures are best viewed from above, such as from a hot air balloon. The structures that lie furthest apart are separated by a distance of 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles). Cappadocia, Turkey Site of some of the oldest human communities, for centuries Cappadocia, Turkey, has served as a crossroads for the western and eastern worlds. Its rich history is a tapestry of cultural influences, beginning with the Hittite tribes who settled in the region as far back as the eighteenth century BC. In the succeeding centuries, Cappadocia was an outpost of the Persian Empire, a Roman province and part of the successive Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman Empires. It became a part of modern Turkey in 1922. Thus Cappadocia’s history has been shaped by a diverse array of peoples and cultures, including Assyrians, Hittites, Phrygians, Turkic tribes from Central Asia, Mongols, Persians, Syrians, Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, Slavs, Greeks, Romans, and Western Europeans. The entwining of so many threads of human history made Cappadocia an ideal site for the Rhythms of Life Project. The Karadag mountain range in Cappadocia Turkey is the site of the largest of Rogers’ land art projects. The structures evoke the sense of ancient history and topography of Cappadocia. The Time and Space sculpture park is built 3,963 feet above sea level, and consists of 13 individual structures. Vertical structures and horizontal geoglyphs clasp the land and gracefully emulate the many ancient stonewalls threading local villages. Vertical columns are cut out of black basalt from a quarry in nearby Kayseri, and the geoglyphs are literally made from stones gathered from the surface of the landscape itself; stones the workers gather as they build. When I look at these structures, I never just see structures. I see hundreds of people passing rocks to each other up hills, and I see them singing, and I see them standing in the sun and in the cold and working. And I see generations of families - grandchildren, fathers, mothers, grandparents achieving together. The largest such installation in the world, the Time and Space Sculpture Park, built between 2007 and 2011, commands a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape, as much a tribute to nature as an impressive artwork in its own right. Although each piece can stand alone as sculpture, the individual pieces are precisely located so that each also beautifully frames several other works seen in the distance, simultaneously providing an impressive proscenium for the spectacular terrain. ‘Time and Space’, Cappadocia, Turkey We perceive our existence in space and time; we are here now and life is current but it is often some values of the past that are also relevant today. With the concept of ‘Time and Space’ we are carried over great time and space from ancient cultures and civilizations. It is an exploration of meanings from the past and their meaning for the future. Creating earth art in the form of geoglyphs is to reach back in history and to civilizations past. They are giant metaphors linked to the prehistoric traffic routes of ancient inhabitants and, as such, borrow from the ancients to devise new forms. But their messages are greater than their forms. Derived from local beliefs, carvings, and motifs, they invoke what was awesome and wondrous to our predecessors. They extend the continuity of history and project into the future that which may become future history. They are a symbol for contemplation about past society and its possible meaning. Geoglyphs are about time and the depth of our heritage. They are about memory – remembering what has gone before – for without memory we are nothing. They are about the importance of the perspective that we are caretakers and have responsibilities to those around us and those who will follow. We receive the consequences created by our predecessors. In turn we leave a consequence for our descendants. The present will be reflected in the future. These structures should act as a catalyst for a vision of a better world. This is an open ended conversation in which everyone is invited to participate. The Process The act of creating geoglyphs is a huge logistical exercise involving teams of up to 1,200 people. Having to communicate complex instructions and moving thousands of tons of rocks in all types of physical conditions is challenging. Integral to the creation of the geoglyphs is the process of creation, the experience of working closely with many people and coming to a common understanding of that which was an abstract concept to many minds. It is the notion of the geoglyph belonging to the community that helped create it, theirs for an eternity of future generations to experience. It is the involvement of three generations of families and the proud promise to bring grandchildren and great grandchildren back to the site to show them what has been created. It is a demonstration of what a focused, harmonious, whole community effort can achieve in the movement and placement of thousands of tons of rocks. It is knowing that people have engaged with people and enriched their life experience. It is the diversity of a rich and vibrant culture, yet the sameness of the human spirit. It is the demonstration of the tenet of humans’ capabilities that within all communities of people there is a normal distribution of ability and intelligence, and the fact that some people just lack opportunity. Often destiny is a matter of chance, not a matter of choice. Andrew Rogers