The Minneapolis Institute of Art has commissioned crop artist and painter Stan Herd to replicate Vincent van Gogh’s Olive Trees (1889) on 1.5 acres of farmland in Eagan, Minnesota, and the results are amazing.
Taking months to prepare, Herd planted a host of different crops—including watermelons, cantaloupes, squash and pumpkins—to replicate the colors in van Gogh’s famous painting. To achieve the correct texture and depth, the land artist rearranged rocks, mulch, and soil.
The museum commissioned landscape artist Stan Herd to recreate van Gogh’s masterpiece.
Photo: thisiscolossal.com
According to Vulture, the work is strategically positioned to give passengers traveling to Minneapolis’ St. Paul International Airport a bird’s eye view of the land art piece, a copy of the original masterpiece which hangs in the Minneapolis museum.
“I’ve always had a fascination with van Gogh. He was one of the artists whose stories I connected with really early,” Herd explained.
Vincent van Gogh, Olive Trees (1889)
Photo: Photo: Francis G. Mayer/Corbis
“The amazing thing about van Gogh’s painting is the there’s not a single straight line in the whole canvas. Everything is organic and curved and flowing, and it’s like a pulse,” the artist added. “I’m just amazed that after months of looking at one painting, that I continued to discover things in it. When I’m here I don’t see the ground and mulch and pots, I see the painting.”
Herd’s take on the masterpiece creates a whole new definition of post-Impressionism, and will surely delight travelers of all ages descending into Minneapolis.
Van Gogh’s original Olive Trees painting was part of a series of canvases he painted in Sait-Rémy-de-Provence, France.
Unlike Herd’s (legitimate) copy, a Dutch man was recently arrested for attempting to sell a forged van Gogh in August. To make sure you can tell the difference, watch artnet News’ critics Blake Gopnik and Christian Viveros-Fauné discussing what makes van Gogh unique.