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This dissertation considers the aesthetic strategies and ethical implications of contemporary earth art. Drawing from feminist and ecological critiques of phenomenology, it posits that an ethical preoccupation with the earth is identifiable in works that stage the artist's inability to condense natural phenomena into an intelligible art object thereby evidencing the earth's excess beyond the field of perception. Contemporary earth art has the paradoxical goal of evoking the sensorial plenitude of the earth without representing it as such. The first chapter analyzes Robert Smithson's monumental sculpture, the Spiral Jetty (1970), and suggests that the artist deploys the emblem of the whirlpool to express the artwork's constitutive rupture from the earth, a loss that the artwork subsequently discloses in its textual modes, including an essay and a film that document the construction of the sculpture. Chapter two examines the recurrence of the whirlpool motif and other anagrammatic shapes such as black holes, tornadoes, shells and nests, in earth art from the last three decades. In contemporary practices the whirlpool allegorizes an ethical attentiveness to the earth's alterity; not only does it thematize the artwork's separation from perpetual natural regeneration, it signals the artist's withdrawal from the attempt to construct a totalizing perspective of the site. Chapter three addresses performance and installation works that feature the contact between the artist's body and the earth, and in particular, the body's role in delineating the point of friction between the earth's sensorial plenitude and its resistance to representation. Earth artists thereby assert the body as a surface that separates itself out from the earth and receives sensation of it as other. The conclusion summarizes the main arguments of the previous chapters through a discussion of a three-part installation by Chris Drury entitled Whorls (2005).

The involvement of nature happens at the edge of architecture, influencing the space of man from the outside and the inside. This design is intended to open man's space to his surroundings, and for establishing a new relationship between man and nature.Peter Noever writes in Architecture in Transition: "In order to become an autonomous subject, man distances himself from nature. This process of distance helps men to learn increasingly to control himself and nature. However, this origin of subjectivity becomes hybrid and turns against man himself: he falls prey to his natural need to dominate, and the dominator of nature becomes the prey of nature."The idea of dominating nature is strongly reflected in the American rural dwellings. Like an "icon of individualism," "operating objectively in their relationship to the landscape,"2 the houses appear isolated from the surroundings. Man might control himself by building this isolated relationship with his surroundings, but it does not have to be like this. Because man not only needs to control himself but also needs to live healthily. The energy of the natural world is an essential part of a healthy human life. Especially in the living environment, natural elements-(defined as "a creative and controlling force in the universe")--are indispensable. For a healthy life, in balance with nature, man should be receptive to his surroundings.The Involvement of Nature is a study of dwelling space, using the language of architecture to improve and cultivate a harmonious relationship between man and nature. This project will focus on the connection between the dwelling space and its natural surroundings. It will create a contextual connection by the interactions between human perceptions of space inside the dwelling and the natural or cultural landscapes which is the outdoor environmental phenomena and features; the sun, the wind and the changing landscape. / Department of Architecture

The natural forces of earth, sea and sky provide a wealth of inspiration for the creation of jewelry and metalwork. This project involved the investigation of such natural forces as erosion, growth cycles, tides and wind currents, followed by the design and construction of a body of work based on what was observed.During the observation phase, the artist collected source material In the form of photographs, rough sketches, tracings and actual physical evidence o f the natural forces a t work. The designs were based on a synthesis of the impressions gathered, rather than on one particular source. Not only were the visual and tactile aspects of the forces considered important, but the artist's emotional responses to those forces played a role in the designs as well.A total of thirteen pieces of jewelry and three boxes were created. Chasing, repousse, inlay and reticulation were the metalworking techniques primarily used to render the natural imagery.An intensive study of chasing and repousse was undertaken, as these techniques were especially suited to illustrating the wide variety of form and texture present in nature, from graceful, sweeping cloud formations to heavily modeled rock surfaces. The inlay process proved to be an adaptable way of mounting irregularly shaped natural materials, particularly shells, in the jewelry and boxes. The swirling quality of reticulation effectively represented such textures as the ruffled fungal growths found in forests, or the rushing, foaming tides at the edge of a shoreline.By combining close observation of the effects of natural forces with appropriate metalworking techniques, an aesthetically striking and highly original collection of jewelry and metalwork was conceived and executed. / Department of Art

The object of this thesis is to provide, through a thorough analysis of human perception and interaction with aesthetics and landscape quality, a comprehensive basis on which to develop a credible methodology for the large scale assessment of perceived landscape quality. The analysis of human perception and interaction with aesthetics and landscape quality is gained by inquiring in depth into a range of theoretical constructs from key disciplines, cultural aspects, and empirical studies covering : 1. the contribution of philosophers to aesthetics 2. the psychology of perception and colour 3. the contribution of Gestalt psychology to aesthetics 4. the psychoanalytical construct of human responses to aesthetics 5. the influence of culture on landscape preferences, tracing the changing perceptions of mountains, the portrayal of landscapes in art, and the design of parks and gardens 6. a review of over 200 surveys of landscape quality in the late 20th century, including typologies and theories of landscape quality Based on the analysis of these and the knowledge gained, an empirical study is formulated and conducted, comprising a study of landscape quality of South Australia, an area of nearly 1 million km - 1. This involves, firstly, the acquisition of data covering the delineation of landscape character regions for the State, photography of these landscapes, derivation of a set of representative slides, and rating of these by groups of participants. Secondly, these preference ratings are comprehensively analysed on the basis of the attributes of the scenes covering land form, land cover, land use, water bodies, naturalism, diversity and colour. Thirdly, the results are applied as follows: 1. a map of landscape quality of South Australia is derived 2. the results are used to predict the effect that changes in land use ( e.g. clearance of trees ) will have on landscape quality 3. the theoretical constructs of landscape quality are evaluated on the basis of the preference ratings 4. a protocol is detailed to guide the undertaking of large - scale landscape quality assessment. The thesis thus fulfils the objective of conducting a thorough analysis of human perception and interaction with, aesthetics and landscape quality, to provide a basis for developing a credible methodology for the large - scale assessment of perceived landscape quality. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Social Sciences, 2000.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Geographical and Environmental Studies, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Detroit Mercy, 2009. / "24 April 2009." Includes bibliographical references (p. 101).

Preisschrift--Göttingen. / Lebenslauf. "Die vorliegende preisschrift dient zugleich als inaugural-dissertation." Includes bibliographical references.