• General Information
• The Herbert Bayer Earthwork
• Video
• Art at the Earthworks

The Herbert Bayer Earthwork

A dam in the ordinary sense constitutes a radical interference with the natural configuration of the land. My intent was, therefore, to give the dams a natural appearance conforming to the landscape . . .

Herbert Bayer, King County Arts Commission newsletter, August 1982

As a Bauhaus master, Herbert Bayer’s entire career was dedicated to integrating artistic concerns into the everyday operations of society. With the Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks, he created a much loved public park, a stormwater detention dam and a Modernist masterpiece. Installed in 1982, the Earthworks was immediately lauded for its fusion of art and infrastructure, making the installation a powerful precedent for engineers, landscape architects and artists.

A series of sculpted spaces that feel both ancient and modern, the Earthworks’ pure forms—cones, circles, lines and berms—are built into the alluvial delta at the mouth of Mill Creek Canyon. Grass and concrete, a wood bridge and steps: these are the materials at work, joined by the natural forces of Mill Creek itself.

[editor's note: When Herbert Bayer first began exploring land art in Aspen, CO in 1955, the term earthwork didn't exist. The title of the artwork in Kent is the "Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks," but we often refer to it as the "Earthwork", or to the "Herbert Bayer Earthwork".

Hydrology

These aerial photographs illustrate how the Herbert Bayer Earthworks performs during a storm event. While they are not taken from exactly the same orientation, you can still see how the double-ring pond is submerged underwater in the photograph on the left, with the split-rings barely rises above the surface. You can also see how the large berm functions as both a sculptural element and earthen dam, preventing the stormwater from flooding downtown Kent.

Restoration & Landmark Designation

In April 2008, Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks was proclaimed "exceptionally significant" and became the City of Kent's first landmark.

Later that summer, the Earthworks underwent a dam safety construction project. This project was necessary because state regulations required the dam to meet a 10,000 year storm event, an increase from the dam's original 100-year storm design. Substantial changes were made to the dam's main berm and spillways to meet this increase in stormwater capacity.

After removing invasive plants, Earth Day volunteers pose with the Partners in Preservation "Vote Eartworks: Kent's Dam Park" yard signs, 2010.

The Kent Arts Commission is committed to honoring the physical and conceptual aspects that comprise Herbert Bayer's original design. Generous support for the first phase of restoration came from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation's "Partners in Preservation" program and a 4Culture Landmark Challenge grant. The funding allowed the City of Kent to improve drainage in the bowls, repave the pathways, restore the double-ring pond and restore the view corridor along the stream.

As much as Herbert Bayer created a physical place, he also created a model for interdisciplinary collaboration. In this spirit, in 2007 the Kent Arts Commission asked a University of Washington Studio to collaborate with Kent Public Works to address new storm water regulations and vegetation management. The Studio also reviewed archival documents to clarify Bayer's vision for his project, as it was designed and as it has aged. The City of Kent Public Works Department hopes to incorporate some of the students' design solutions into future projects along the canyon.

Articles

"Park" does not begin to describe the critically acclaimed land art to be found [in the Green River Valley]. For the last 40 years, forward-thinking arts commissioners and government employees have explored creative alliances, nontraditional funding sources, existing land-use regulations, and a public process to reclaim and reshape these lands."

"Earthworks: Art & Landscape in Washington's Green River Valley" by Cheryl dos Remedios, Forum Journal, National Trust for Historic Preservation

"Twenty-five years ago, in the younger, bolder days of Washington's public-art programs, the mayor of a small city south of Seattle latched onto a grand vision for a public-works project. The engineering need was straightforward: a dam that would prevent stormwaters from deluging the city."

"Work of art, work of Earth" by Sheila Farr, Seattle Times art critic

"Herbert Bayer was born in the hamlet of Haag, Austria, on April 5, 1900. His father, a government revenue officer, and mother encouraged young Herbert’s interest in nature and art, allowing him to roam into the hills and mountains near his childhood home in Linz with his sketchbook."

"Herbert Bayer (1900-1985): Profile of an Environmental Artist" by Catherine Maggio and Brice Maryman, The Cultural Landscape Foundation

"Formal recognition of historic properties through landmark designation is typically confined to sites that are at least 40 years old or older – and rarely is a property found to be of such exceptional significance that the age criterion is waived. But such was the case on April 24, 2008 when the King County Landmarks Commission, acting for the City of Kent, designated the Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks as a City of Kent Landmark. Nominated by the Kent Arts Commission, the Earthworks is the City’s first designated landmark."

"Earthworks Designated Historic Landmark" by Julie Koler and Cheryl dos Remedios

"In 1979, The King County Arts Commission convened a symposium entitled Earthworks: Land Reclamation as Scupture, and invited eight artists to create reclamation plans, choosing from more than 100 industrial sites lying fallow in the county. The commissione hoped ot address the ecological issues at each site while converting the landscapes into usable community spaces through earthwork designs."

"Landslide 2008 Marvels of Modernism: Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks" by Brice Maryman and Cheryl dos Remedios, Kent Arts Commission and The Cultural Landscape Foundation

For more information, please contact Ronda Billerbeck, Cultural Programs Manage

A Place for People: The Herbert Bayer Earthworks

This short film explores the Earthworks' contribution to the field of Public Art and explains how an icon of green infrastructure has evolved over time.

In the 1970s, a group of women living in Kent desired to start an arts commission. Their plans quickly became intertwined with the broader history of public art in our region. Installed in 1982, the Earthworks was immediately lauded for its fusion of art and infrastructure, yet the issues that initially necessitated the project continue to intensify. Changes in storm water and fisheries regulations have impacted the work, prompting a cross-disciplinary investigation into the artist Herbert Bayer's original intent, his biography and his influence. In 2008, the Earthworks was designated an "exceptionally significant" local landmark, just prior to a major dam safety construction project. Today, as the Earthworks is being renovated, the Kent Arts Commission continues to host contemporary dance performances and eco-art installations at the site.

Originally created for the Americans for the Arts earthworks tour, the premiere public screening of this documentary took place at the Henry Auditorium on Thursday, September 24, 2009. The evening began with a cello performance by the composer Paul Rucker, who also contributed the soundtrack.

This documentary is a collaboration between many organizations and individuals, including the Kent Arts Commission, the Kent Landmarks Commission, the City of Kent Cultural Division, Parks Planning and Maintenance, Environmental Engineering and Multimedia. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank 4Culture, King County Historic Preservation Program, University of Washington's Department of Landscape Architecture's Construction/Hydrology Studio, SvR Design, Kent Historical Society, Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs and Seattle Art Museum as well as all of the artists, landscape architects and historians who participated in the "channeling herbert" exhibition. We gratefully acknowledge all of the Kent community members who supported the installation of the Bayer Earthworks, as well as everyone involved in the "Earthworks: Land Reclamation as Sculpture" symposium.

In lasting remembrance of Seth Frankel, co-director/producer and editor.