Time Lines

As the winner of the national Miami University of Ohio Outdoor Sculpture Competition in 1991, Layne was invited to be artist-in-residence and to install this piece on the grounds adjacent to the University’s Fine Arts complex.  Grading, site planning, material selection and construction management were part of the installation process.  As an integral part of the collaborative nature of the artwork, sculpture students were encouraged to solve design and construction problems during the installation process. Directly involved in the fabrication procedure, the sculpture students were also challenged through an interactive dialog regarding both the role of the artist in society and the concepts and inspirations surrounding environmental art.  This whole installation was videotaped and archived at the school for future teaching and exhibition purposes.

Inspired by the artist’s childhood hikes through dry washes and gullies in California created by natural forces when man disrupts the ecological system, Time Lines represents a sequence of events.  First, the cuts into the earth’s crust in the shape of a bony hand are a reminder of our lack of concern and destructive actions towards our precious earth.  Second, the bright, fluorescent pink, fabric joints draw our attention to the problems man has created and to today’s need to not only become aware of the conditions but to implement selected proposals for change.  Third, when the earth was placed back into the sculpted cuts, and clover and grass were replanted, we could begin to see that with our increased awareness and action, the wounds we have inflicted upon our planet could be healed.  Illuminated at night, Time Lines takes on a special quality that could be appreciated only through intimate and direct contact with the sculpture.