{"data":{"id":"4438","type":"artist","attributes":{"id":4438,"topgoose_id":803,"tms_id":4438,"display_name":"Michelle Stuart","sort_name":"Stuart Michelle","display_date":"1933–","begin_date":"1933","end_date":"0","biography":"\u003cp\u003eThe earth’s physicality has fascinated\nMichelle Stuart since childhood. Her work\noften examines landscape as both a\nmetaphor for memory and the sense of\nplace we seek as human beings. Like other\nartists associated with the movement\nknown as Land art, Stuart has investigated\nsites as a symbolic abstraction—a\nconcept she understood well from her\nwork as a cartographer in the mid-1960s.\nHer piece \u003ca href=\"/collection/works/45024\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e#28 Moray Hill\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e challenges\ntraditional ideas of drawing and its\nboundaries by combining performative\ngestures with found materials.\n\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis large, scrolling sheet of paper is\nscaled to the body and extends down\nthe wall, creating a dimensional presence\nand invoking actual terrain, as if one\nmight enter into it. Through size, proportion,\nand shape, the artist alludes to the way\nin which we inhabit the landscape. The title\nrefers to the location where Stuart found\nthe rocks and earth, which she then used as\nboth a medium and a drawing instrument.\nUsing muslin-backed paper allowed her to\naggressively smash these materials into\nthe sheet without tearing it. This technique\nresulted in a pitted surface, indexing\nthe site used to make the piece, while\nmimicking dirt and earth more generally.\nStuart added aluminum powder to\ncreate a sheen, so the work’s visual qualities\nchange depending on lighting and viewing\nangle. This drawing is part of a group\nof related works that Stuart created in a\nsimilar format using the same special\npaper, all of which reveal her experimental\napproaches to materials and process\nwhile referencing the earth both literally\nand metaphorically.\u003c/p\u003e","on_view":false,"artport":false,"biennial":false,"collection":true,"ulan_id":"500120723","wikidata_id":"Q6837258","created_at":"2017-08-30T15:52:24.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-04-10T07:02:24.039-04:00","links":{"artworks":"/api/artists/4438/artworks","exhibitions":"/api/artists/4438/exhibitions"}}}}