Compost, Processes, and Natural Time
In von Hantelmann’s discussion of “Untilled,” Huyghe was quoted as saying, “The compost is the place where you throw things that you don’t need that are dead. […] And when someone enters that site, things are in themselves, [… ] each thing [… ] keeps growing and changing.” (9-10). I think it’s interesting to look at this in the context of time. “Untilled” was an outdoor installation meant to shift and change as the days went by. In short: “Untilled” was art in which the process of creation was the product.
Composting is a process. Composting breaks down organic material and returns it to the earth. It is a process that takes time and complex interactions. Without all the life that exists around a compost heap, it would never be able to turn into the nutrient rich, life-giving soil we associate with the word “compost”. By setting up the art-process of “Untilled” in a compost heap, Hugyhe gave these vital processes and connections a stage on which to unfold.
This idea of processes over time makes me think of the countless nature documentaries I’ve seen and their use of time-lapse imagery to show how plants grow and shift, or the decomposition of a rotten log and the life that blooms over top of it. Making art from growing and changing nature is a powerful idea, and I think it can draw our attention to the way time passes in the natural world as well as giving us an awareness of the processes that keep the world alive. Now more than ever, I think that understanding the shifts and changes of the planet over time is both deeply beautiful and critically important for the survival of our world.
Work Cited
Von Hantelmann, Dorothea. “Bees, Exhibitions, and the Anthropocene.” https://culearn.carleton.ca/moodle/pluginfile.php/4393430/mod_resource/content/1/Diderot%20and%20von%20Hantelmann.pdf pp. 5-12.
https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1537? Accessed: March 22, 2021.
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