Land art is a style of art that uses natural materials, usually found at a specific location to create a piece of art. However, land art provides no restrictions and therefore many works of art such as John Wolseley's, can be labelled as land art as the influence and subject matter is the landscape and the natural world.
As a means to education, land art is a brilliant way to make relevant connections to the children's lives, as nature is an inevitable part of our every day journeys. There are many theoretical underpinnings supporting the importance of connecting children's studies to the world around them (Dinham, 2011 & Popovich, 2006 & Eisner, 2002). Making relevant connections to the children's lives allow for the work to become meaningful and assists in the build of eagerness to perform a task. It is therefore very important to note, that everything we do as teachers needs to have a connection to our students lives; aiming at their interests.
In particular, the influence that nature plays in art can be transferred to other learning areas such as Science; where children could focus on the sustainability and environment and also reflects the many of general capabilities outlined by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA, 2013), Information and communication technology capability, Critical and creative thinking, Personal and social capability, Ethical understanding and Intercultural understanding.
In conjunction with the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), a small unit of work consisting of four lesson plans has been constructed aimed at Year 3 primary students.
artist.