Richard Long (artist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richard Long
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Richard Long, March 11, 2015
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Richard Julian Long
2 June 1945 Bristol, England
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| Education | Saint Martin's School of Art |
| Known for | Sculpture |
| Movement | Land Art |
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Sir Richard Julian Long (born June 2, 1945) is a famous English sculptor. He is one of Britain's best-known land artists. Land art is a type of art made directly in nature.
Richard Long is the only artist to be chosen four times for the Turner Prize. This is a very important art award. He won the prize in 1989 for his work White Water Line. He was born in Bristol, England, and still lives and works there.
Long studied art at Saint Martin's School of Art. He creates art using many different things. These include sculptures, photographs, and even words. His art can be seen in major galleries. These include the Tate in Britain and the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. His work is also in galleries in America, Switzerland, and Australia.
Long's art has changed how people think about sculpture. He often uses natural materials like earth, rocks, mud, and stone. When his art is shown, it might be the actual materials. Or it could be photos and descriptions of his outdoor projects.
Early Life and Art School
Richard Long was born in Bristol, England. This city is in the southwest part of the country. From 1962 to 1965, he studied art. He attended the West of England College of Art. Then, from 1966 to 1968, he went to Saint Martin's School of Art in London. There, he learned from famous artists like Anthony Caro. He also became good friends with another student, Hamish Fulton.
How Richard Long Creates Art
Many of Richard Long's artworks are based on walks he has taken. He has been doing these walks since the mid-1960s. He has walked in many different places. These include the Sahara Desert, Australia, and Iceland. He also walks near his home in Bristol, United Kingdom.
His art has been very new and exciting. It has changed how people see sculpture. He showed that art is not just limited to "traditional" materials. He uses things like rocks and earth. He also showed that the process of making art can be the art itself.
When he walks, he often changes the landscape a little bit. For example, in A Line Made by Walking (1967), he walked back and forth. This created a visible line in the grass. Sometimes, he makes sculptures in nature. He uses rocks or other natural items he finds. Then he takes pictures of them. Other times, his art is just photos or maps of untouched places. These are shown with notes about his walk. The notes tell where and when he walked.
One of his important works is Delabole Slate Circle. The Tate Modern bought it in 1997. It is now a main piece at the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. This artwork is almost 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) wide. It is made of 168 pieces of slate stone. The slate came from a quarry in Cornwall, United Kingdom.
Long has rules for how the circle should be put together. All the stone pieces must touch each other. This makes them strong and stable. Also, the pieces must form a perfect circle. This connection of stones and the circle shape show a key idea in Long's art. It is about the link between humans and nature. Long explained, "My work is a balance." He said it balances "nature's patterns" with "human, abstract ideas of lines and circles." He feels it is where his human side meets the world's natural forces.
At Houghton Hall in Norfolk, a special sculpture was ordered. It is a circle made of Cornish slate. It sits at the end of a path cut into the grass.
Some of his art is permanently installed in buildings. Riverlines (2006) is at the Hearst Tower in New York. It is a very large wall artwork. Planet Circle (1991) is at the Museum De Pont in the Netherlands. White Water Falls (2012) is in the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Australia.
In 2009, a big show of Long's art was held. It was called "Heaven and Earth" at the Tate Britain. In 2015, another major show happened in his hometown. It was called "Richard Long: Time and Space" at the Arnolfini.
Awards and Recognition
Richard Long has received many important awards for his art.
- In 1976, he showed his art for Britain at the Venice Biennale. This is a very famous art event in Italy.
- In 1989, he won the Turner Prize in London. This is one of the most important art awards in the UK.
- In 2001, he became a member of the Royal Academy of Arts.
- In 2009, he received the Praemium Imperiale for sculpture from Japan. This is a global arts prize.
- In 2015, he was named the Whitechapel Gallery Art Icon.
- In 2023, he won the Wolf Prize in Arts.
He was also given special honors by the British government. In 2013, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). In 2018, he was made a Knight Bachelor. This means he can be called "Sir" for his services to art.
See also
In Spanish: Richard Long para niños
- Land art
- Environmental art
- Environmental sculpture
