Portrait of The Farmer As An Earth Artist

Portrait Of The Productive Farmer As An Earth Artist

- (for Tony Phillips of Birriwindi)


The artist walks out to be in his studio, to his long-lasting
big work, he comes from the door of his dwelling, changing
to tough boots at the porch, it's in these he comes, a vehicle
carries him, comes to the vast canvas, to the work, and what
is it here that he does? He pauses as if out of time, he long-looks
in a green ochre and brown study, like an even-handed judge
coming slow to the weighing for making a report, yet suppressing
the shout for what this work is becoming. He frames his eyes
with the gesture of one hand, in the old sign language that many
other earth artists could understand, to select of a vast landscape,
of this large paddock of new-sown lucerne, for it is this of which
his night dreams consist, this which the day-dreams paint verdant.
It is the work of these many years of lifetime. It was two years
ago that he found inspiration here to let the land go fallow
and then, with the rank gouche of poor fog grass high as four
winds rippled it, he ploughed the pallette knife of his tractor
through its bulk, it was him threw it down, disced it under like
burying the old dead bodies that would feed an idea of these
small leguminous leaves, this bud, this beginning of a deep
rooted crop, this turning of earth a rich leafy full production.
He steps with care across its scarified brush strokes, crouches
with care for booted feet between its shoots, and reaching down,
he crumbles the clods of earth as if it were living treasure.


WDK