Uploaded February 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
"Field Piece" was a large environmental sculpture made of 180 translucent resin tubes, each 9 1/2 feet tall, representing blades of grass. The tubes were mounted on an Ethafoam base containing hidden switches that produced an electronic hum and caused the blades to light up when someone stepped on them. The artwork took Smith over four years to complete and drained most of her savings. Over time, most of the panels were damaged and today only 15 blades survive.
This video is part of the Barbara T. Smith papers at the Getty Research Institute. View the finding aid for Smith's archive: https://primo.getty.edu/permalink/f/19q6gmb/GETTY_ALMA21155149520001551
Barbara T. Smith: The Way to Be is on view at the Getty Research Institute from February 28, 2023 through July 16, 2023. Learn more: https://www.getty.edu/research/exhibitions_events/exhibitions/barbara_t_smith/index.html
"Field Piece" was a large environmental sculpture made of 180 translucent resin tubes, each 9 1/2 feet tall, representing blades of grass. The tubes were mounted on an Ethafoam base containing hidden switches that produced an electronic hum and caused the blades to light up when someone stepped on them. The artwork took Smith over four years to complete and drained most of her savings. Over time, most of the panels were damaged and today only 15 blades survive.
This video is part of the Barbara T. Smith papers at the Getty Research Institute. View the finding aid for Smith's archive: https://primo.getty.edu/permalink/f/19q6gmb/GETTY_ALMA21155149520001551
Barbara T. Smith: The Way to Be is on view at the Getty Research Institute from February 28, 2023 through July 16, 2023. Learn more: https://www.getty.edu/research/exhibitions_events/exhibitions/barbara_t_smith/index.html
