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Show I hvant-Garde Art in Monument Valley s aJI Fjoffstands by a row of his bags while the Totem Pile and Yei Be Chai dancers line up behind him By Alvin Reiner Recent visitors to the Great Sand Dunes in Mounument Valley which is situated in southeastern Utah and northern north-ern Arizona, were probably startled by the array of bright red and white plastic bags which outshone the coral colored, sun-drenched desert sands. . In all, 3,456 of -the thirty gallon bags were placed on the dunes by New York sculptor, Geoff Pocock with the help of a few local assistants. Geoff had originally planned his project for an area in Arizona,- but there was too much vegetation on the site, so he selected the Monument Valley Dunes which reminded him of the Sahara.. : ,-. Pocock now lives in the Soho District of t New York City, which has beedme tfw artist colony that Greenwich Village was in the 1950's and early '60's. An English accent is readily discernible, as Geoff spent his formative years in London. In his massive landscape sculpture, Pocock utilized a design which incorporated the number twentyfour. Simple mathematics shows that twenty-four fits into 3,456 one hundred and forty-four times, or an even gross. This project and others like it comprise a new form of art called a "happening" or "event," in which the artist creates something which is of short duration. Often ' the "event" is expected to be witnessed at the time of its creation, and in many cases such as Geoff s, photographed for posterity before being dismantled. It took Geoff and his assistants about ten days to place the bags (each filled with fifty pounds of sand) in their proper locations. The last bag was put Into position only minutes before the plane carrying the photographer photo-grapher circled the huge undertaking. At the beginning, Geoff planned on filling the bags to capacity which would have required one hundred pounds of sand, but then he noticed that partially filled bags would flutter in the breeze, thus adding another dimension, -namely movement, to the artwork. The fluttering caused some problems for the. Navajo sheepherders as their flocks were frightened by the movement, move-ment, and their course to the spring-fed stream at the base of the dunes had to be altered. Some tour operators expressed displeasure over the project as it interfered with one of the Big Valley, attractions; the afternoon sheep drive. They also felt Geoff s artwork interfered inter-fered with the tourists' photography photo-graphy of the natural wonders'. After the project was photographed, photo-graphed, Geoff's assistants departed, leaving ' him to empty and collect the bags by himself. Pocock encountered numerous hardships; the most notable being his food was carried off by stray dogs and possibly coyotes.- At the inception of the undertaking, one of the Navajo- boys was hostile to Geoff and the undertaking; and he tried to rip the bags. Geoffs easy: going nature overcame this animosity, and the lad even assisted Pocock at times. Sunburn, windburn and thirst also plagued Geoff during his ordeal in which he camped out on the dunes. One night, after Geoff had been told stories by the Navajos about the "skin walkers" who supposedly haunt the area, he was awakened from his sleep to see a horse and rider silently standing over him in the moonlight. Geoff was startled, and for a moment thought that the stories he heard might be true. However, it turned out to be a Navajo youth looking for some stray sheep. Pocock gave several reasons for indulging in such a project. One, of course, was the work of art itself. He also considered consid-ered it a challenge, and desired to push his body to its "outer limits." Recognition played a part in the undertaking, undertak-ing, along with a' search far "peace of mind." The Monument Valley happening hap-pening is just one in a series Pocock hopes to accomplish. His next venture is scheduled for the North Pole. It will incorporate the number 15, and will stretch for a mile across the artic terrain. Geoff plans on burning the design into the ice using a napalmlike napalm-like substance which will produce various colors. Since this future endeavor will require much manpower, Geoff Ge-off is hoping to secure the services of prisoners to keep his costs to a minimum. Pocock is hoping an airline whose flight pattern is over the proposed site will financially assist him. Geoff Pocock financed his Monument Valley project out of his own pocket, but he hopes to receive some monetary mone-tary renumeration from the sale of photographs taken of the event. In fact, it wasn't until he finished his sand dune project that his wife. Linda, could scrape up enough money for his return Irip to New York. |