Walter De Maria

American, 1935-2013. Sculptor, illustrator and composer, Walter De Maria, played a seminal role in Minimalism, Conceptual Art, and Land Art movements. The New York-based painter was born in California and attended the University of California, Berkeley. In The Lightning Field, a series of 400 stainless steel poles arranged in a grid, the artist brought the gallery to the New Mexico desert. The poles measured over twenty feet tall and had solid pointed tips that were meant to attract lightning. The perceptions of the viewers witnessing the installation from afar change with the time of day and atmospheric conditions.