Abstract

This thesis is concerned with the changing status of the North American landscape art tradition, focusing on the 1970s to the present day. The relationship between industry and ecology is at the forefront of these changes, as the interaction between these areas has become essential during this time of ecological crisis. With the use of different media and from diverse theoretical approaches, artists Robert Smithson, Edward Burtynsky and Susan Leibovitz Steinman all contribute to the development of a 'new landscape' and utilize industrial and urban sites as the subject matter and location of their artworks. They enable the possibility of a nature/culture dialogue through their art production that has the capacity to introduce a deeper understanding of environmental concerns from an original perspective. This thesis focuses on select works from Smithson's land reclamation projects of the early 1970s, Burtynsky's industrial photography of the 1990s, and Steinman's interactive environmental art of the 1990s, and demonstrates that art can play a significant role in raising awareness on the state of our environment. These artists' works are powerful tools of communication that encourage contemplation and, in certain cases, direct action toward a deeper appreciation of the environment in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and play significant roles in the contemporary landscape art tradition.