Lightning Field
2006 August 10, Thursday Night
I'd first heard of this a few years ago, and thought, Hmm,
must go. It's a bit of "land art", a site-specific installation
and experience. The kind where the artist's statement reads
halfway between poetry and fascism:
- The visitor will spend approximately 24 hours at the site.
- The visitor will spend time alone on the Field.
- The ratio of land to guests will be high.
- A visit may only be arranged through written correspondence.
- No photograph or group of photographs can document the Field.
The idea is that a field of 400 lightning rods located
in the high desert of New Mexico in an area with many
many thunderstorms should sometimes be interesting.
I'll skip to the punchline -- no lightning strikes for us!
But the visit was interesting. You arrive in Quemado, a tiny
sleepy town on the West edge of New Mexico, and go to the
Dia Foundation's building. Yup, they have a building. It's white
and has great empty rooms, and a few chairs.
After a while Robert shows up in The Van. He wears a cowboy
hat and isn't much inclined to small talk and he's kind of
like some of those Burning Man DPW folks except for real.
The web site makes a fuss about disallowing photography, but
Robert doesn't talk much and he's sure not the kind to lay
out foolish rules.
You and the other guests -- six in all -- ride out to The Cabin.
No locks, no weather proofing. Robert says: "Bye. See you tomorrow.
Eleven." The cabin is simple and comfortable and a much-aged
laminated page says something about how to bake the enchiladas in
the tray in the refrigerator for supper.
And then... you sit out on the deck and... talk about the weather.
What else could it be?
We had a nice group, two couples from Oregon (purely coincidental)
and ourselves. One had brought some wine to share, which was nice.
Wandering out alone in the Field was grand. Although. It was a little
muddy from recent rain. But there was a lot of interesting flora
and fauna out there. And big ant hills!
Recommendations for potential visitors: Don't do it if the cost
is borderline for you. If possible, go with a full house of 6
friends. And, in any case, bring wine.
dvb