Ecological ;
Rice/Tree/Burial (1968, Eco-Logic,
Sullivan County, New York; re-created 1977 at
Artpark) As a pioneer of
Land Art, Agnes Denes created
Rice/Tree/Burial in 1968 in
Sullivan County, New York. Acknowledged as the first site-specific performance piece with ecological concerns, ;
Agnes Denes at Artpark (1977-1979) During her time at Artpark, Denes recreated her
Rice/Tree/Burial piece from 1968. In 1977, she planted a half acre (0.2 ha) of rice 150 feet (45 m) above the spot where
Niagara Falls had originally formed. The land itself that she worked on was known to have been an industrial dumping ground, which affected the quality of the rice. In 1978, she continued the project by chaining together trees in the forest in the park to symbolize interference with growth. On August 20, 1979, Denes buried a
time capsule at 47° 10′ longitude, 79° 2′ 32″ latitude set to be opened in the twenty-third century. The capsule includes microfilmed responses of university students to questions about the nature of humanity. ;
Wheatfield — A Confrontation (1982,
Battery Park,
New York City) After months of preparations, in May 1982, a two-acre (0.8 ha) field of
wheat was planted on a
landfill in
lower Manhattan, two blocks from
Wall Street and the
World Trade Center, facing the
Statue of Liberty, sponsored by the
Public Art Fund. To create the work, 200 truckloads of dirt were brought in and 285 furrows were dug by hand and cleared of rocks and garbage. The seeds were sown by hand and the furrows covered with soil. The field was maintained for four months, cleared of
wheat smut, weeded, fertilized, and sprayed against mildew fungus, and an irrigation system was set up. The crop was harvested on August 16 and yielded over 1,000 pounds (455 kg) of healthy, golden wheat. ;
Tree Mountain — A living time capsule (1996,
Ylöjärvi,
Finland) A monumental earthwork reclamation project and the first human-made
virgin forest, situated in Ylöjärvi in the
Pirkanmaa region of Finland. The site was dedicated by
the President of Finland upon its completion in 1996 and is legally protected for the next four hundred years. ;
A Forest for Australia (
Melbourne,
Australia, 1998) 6000 trees were planted into five spirals with each spiral containing three species of tree that, when fully grown, would reach different heights. The resulting shape of each spiral resembled a
step pyramid. The trees helped alleviate serious land erosion and
desertification threatening Australia. ;
Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie Master Plan (2000) A 25-year master plan to unite a 100 kilometer-long string of forts dating from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries comprising the
New Dutch Waterline in
the Netherlands. Incorporating water and flood management, urban planning, historical preservation, landscaping, and tourism into a single plan. ;
North Waterfront Park Masterplan (1988-1991,
Berkeley, California) A conceptual master plan was developed for the conversion of a 97-acre municipal landfill, surrounded by water on three sides in the
San Francisco Bay, into an oasis for people and nature. ;
The Living Pyramid (2015,
Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island, New York) , Nordstadtpark The first in a series of large earth sculptures,
The Living Pyramid was the first land art work by the artist in New York City in over 3 decades. Commission by the Socrates Sculpture Park, it was on view from May through October 2015, and recreated in 2017 for
documenta 14 in
Kassel, Germany. ;
The Living Pyramid (2022,
Sakıp Sabancı Museum, Istanbul, Turkey) Another in the
Living Pyramid series, located at
Sabancı University in Istanbul. The pyramid has different plants from the flora of Istanbul placed on its sides depending on the need for shade or sun.
Visual philosophy Beginning in 1968, she began an intensive exploration of philosophy through art. The result was, according to Jill Hartz of Cornell University, "an amazing body of work, distinguished by its intellectual rigor, aesthetic beauty, conceptual analysis, and environmental concern." •
Paradox and Essence (Philosophical Drawings), 1976, Published by Tau/ma Press, Rome, Italy, in English and Italian. Edition of 200; 60 pages •
Sculptures of the Mind, 1976, Published by the University of Akron Press, Akron, Ohio. Edition of 1,000, 250 signed and numbered; 50 pages •
Isometric Systems in Isotropic Space: Map Projections (from the Study of Distortions Series, 1973-1979), 1979. Published by
Visual Studies Workshop Press, Rochester, New York. Edition of 200 hardback copies in silver foil, signed and numbered by the artist; edition of 600 in paperback; 100 pages, color and black and white throughout, 29 original drawings specially created for the book, 22 transparent pages. •
Original drawings for Isometric Systems, from the Museum of Modern Art Collection •
Early Philosophical Drawings, Monoprints, and Sculpture 1970-1973
Sculpture • Sculptures of the Mind 1968-2012
Writing See three titles under Visual Philosophy, above. •
Book of Dust: The Beginning and the End of Time and Thereafter, 1989 Visual Studies Workshop Press, Rochester, New York. Edition of 1,100 of which 200 are signed with an original artwork. Insert ("The Debate - 1 Million B.C. - 1 Million A.D.); 200 pages, 16 full-page duotones •
The Human Argument, 2008 Spring Publications, Putnam, Connecticut. •
Poetry Walk—Reflections: Pools of Thought, 2000 Charlottesville, Va.: University of Virginia Art Museum. ==Catalogues==