{"data":{"id":"345","type":"artist","attributes":{"id":345,"topgoose_id":2373,"tms_id":345,"display_name":"Agnes Denes","sort_name":"Denes Agnes","display_date":"1931–","begin_date":"1931","end_date":"0","biography":"\u003cp\u003eAgnes Denes was among the earliest\nvoices to assert the obligation of artists to\naddress global concerns, ecological ones\nin particular. Since 1968 she has created\nsite-specific projects that double as acts of\nenvironmental remediation. Denes’s actions\nof reforestation, biodiversification, and\neco-intervention have included planting a\nrice field on a contaminated site near\nthe Niagara Gorge; sowing and harvesting\na two-acre wheat field over a landfill in lower\nManhattan; and making a “tree mountain”\nof 11,000 firs in Finland, planted by 11,000\nvolunteers who were given certificates\ngranting them stewardship of the trees.\n\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/collection/works/13878\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eIsometric Systems in Isotropic Space—\nMap Projections: The Snail\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e is one in a series\nof drawings Denes began in 1973 that\nproject images of Earth onto such forms as\na pyramid, dodecahedron, cube, egg, lemon,\nand snail (or nautilus) shell. Unaided by\na computer, Denes painstakingly rendered\nthe landmasses, distorting them so that\nthey correspond to their proper longitudinal\nand latitudinal coordinates. But while\nmathematically correct and aligned with\ncartographic conventions, \u003cem\u003eThe Snail\u003c/em\u003e is\nequally absurd and—with its seeping washes\nof watercolor and elegant composition—\nlyrical. Refashioning the image of our planet\nas a logarithmic spiral, Denes’s unorthodox\ncartography suggests an alternative\nconception of humanity’s place in the\nuniverse—as if a new global consciousness\ncalls for a new globe. As she wrote in\n1976: “\u003cem\u003eMap Projections\u003c/em\u003e creates sculptural\nform in celestial space and presents\nanalytical propositions in visual form. It is a\ntantalizing game if one learns to read\nbetween coordinates and doesn’t mind\nmaking sport of the human predicament.”\u003c/p\u003e","on_view":false,"artport":false,"biennial":false,"collection":true,"ulan_id":null,"wikidata_id":"Q394503","created_at":"2017-08-30T17:20:32.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-04-13T07:01:40.897-04:00","links":{"artworks":"/api/artists/345/artworks","exhibitions":"/api/artists/345/exhibitions"}}}}