The Terrestrial Map: Mapping the planet at 1:1 scale

From Mono Lake to Death Valley:
An Artistic Exploration of Pleistocene Hydrology

Stanford University Continuing Studies

At the end of the last Ice Age, water flowing from the eastern Sierra created a lush lake and river system stretching from Mono Lake to Death Valley. The drier post-Ice Age climate transformed the region into the spectacular desert we know today, but suggestions of this ancient watershed survive as a series of dry lakebeds (Owens, Searles, China, Manly, Panamint), connected by the now dry Owens River. The waterıs final destination is marked by ancient beach berms along the perimeter of Death Valley. This course is a lecture/field workshop to re-imagineand tracethis ancient lake and river system with a series of Land-art works created during a five-day fieldtrip.

The course will begin with a series of lectures on eastern Sierra geologic history as well as a survey of major practitioners of Land-art (Robert Smithson, Cristo, Andy Goldsworthy, etc.). During the fieldtrip, each course participant will create several site-specific installations at compelling locations along the water's ancient pathway using materials found in the local landscape.

This workshop is participating in The Terrestrial Map- a global Land-art project that is tracing the physical pathways of various large-scale planetary systems. Visit the web site at www.TerrestrialMap.org for more information.

Schedule:
Thursdays 7:00-7:50PM 5 weeks, April 6th - May 18th
Installation fieldtrip: May 25-30
Note: This is a wilderness camping trip. Be prepared to sleep outdoors and help with cooking and cleaning.

Coordinator:
Jim Mason (Anthropoloy MA 94): Founder and Director of The Terrestrial Map. Also Founder and Director of the New Guinea Sculpture Garden and lead designer of the contemporary Rosetta Stone at the Long Now Foundation (www.longnow.org).

Lecturers: Professor Elizabeth Miller: Stanford Professor Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, School of Earth Sciences. Current research focuses on the origin of the Sierra Nevada and the Basin and Range province.

Land Art lecturer to be announced.

Registration begins Thursday, March 2 Register Online or call (650) 725-5503

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