Shawn Patrick Landis's Air Check

Marek Weiczorek, the editor of Sculpture magazine, reviewed Air Check, 2003 done by Shawn Patrick Landis. His work consisted of a series of ducts in semi-transparent, nylon-reinforced plastic is filling in the art of work--Michael Heizer's Double Negative 1969 in Nevada desert. The editor calls this phenomenon as a rendezvous, which means a planned meeting between two and more parties, according to the Wikipedia. He describes that a certain work of art is made in anticipation of a future response or an inspired calling for a future meeting of minds. Marcel Duchamps is a fisrt modern artist to risk this strategy, his provocation to American artists 1950s such as Johns and Rauschenberg's response.

Ladis's Air Check (2003) responds to Haizer's Double Negative in a good way regardless of the same location and almost same scale, Air Check wisely approached to the viewers in unique ways. The piece of Double Negative is permanently sited to the earth and a symmetrical balance, which conveys the sense of long time authority such as the world traditional heritage or mystery site. However, Air check is only for two days exhibition, which is like a guerrilla attack. His team constructed the dramatically different sculpture over the old art piece, but after two day, they tore it down completely as if nothing happened on that site. Its temporal, direct, and physical invention is shocking idea to the audience. And its medium of nylon and saturated and monochromatic blue color really stand out from surroundings.

Critique about these earthworks, site-specific art is arguably enough for people who care about the total design aesthetic which is usually engaged with the historical term of art, of medium, or genre. However, as editor mentioned Air Check is characterized as an "expanded field" of art in terms of its mixture style, minimalism, conceptualism, site-specificity, and so on. It is hard to define what is art in this age. Everybody has different definitions. However, a good art always has certain attractiveness and appeals to the audience. Those art will be remembered for future generation. Art is still growing as this universe is still expanding. .