If you ever find yourself roaming the fields of Kansas, and even a few other states, you might discover “Earthworks.” These are pieces of art where the canvas is the land and the “paint” is soil, rocks and other natural elements sourced from the natural landscape. This is the kind of work Stan Herd creates.
Herd, a Kansas native, grew up on a farm in Protection, Kansas, and always felt like he would do something involving land. For more than 40 years now, he has been a “crop artist,” using the Earth to create what he calls Earthworks. To Herd, his art is more than just a piece of beautiful land; it’s a chance to be a part of history.
“My artistic life has been cultivating my art to fit my life and my life to fit my art,” says Herd, whose art has earned him an international reputation.
Herd starts by taking a recognizable image and “honing” in on it to ensure it’s “field-ready.” He does this by creating sketches of the image and using a grid system to map it out on the field. He then uses a weed eater or similar tool to carve out the design. He and his team, known as Team Herd, decide how best to implement the design, from adding plants and manipulating existing crops to blowtorching areas and bringing in other natural elements.
“These days, we fly a drone over the field each evening to ascertain the visibility of the evolving image,” says Herd. While the best view is from above, Herd has created other pieces that are just intended to be filmed or photographed. Some projects have been created on a hillside or in a valley and can be enjoyed from all points of view.
Before the presidential election, Herd decided to make something that he thought would create a buzz—and it did. It was a simple piece with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s initials in flowers under the air traffic pattern where Swift often flies. The piece was simpler than most of his grand works, but the importance was in the messaging: The image also had the word “Vote.” Herd had been inspired by Taylor and how she had been encouraging her fans to vote.
“In two weeks, my son Evan and I were meeting Andrea Hailey, CEO of Vote.org, in her Washington office,” Herd says.
Because of the Earthworks piece, Herd and his crew traveled for 16 months, creating pieces around the United States that urged people to get involved and vote, from portraits of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter in Atlanta to a portrait of Kamala Harris near Kansas City.
“When you find inspiration, when you witness young people with the gift of standing up for democracy, you walk out the door and get involved,” Herd says. “It is amazingly fulfilling. Do your part and be a part of history.”
