Environmental art is a genre of art created in the late 1960s and created from objects found in nature into a work of art. Some environmental art would be so large that it would be considered monumental. This type of art cannot be moved without destroying it, and climate and weather can change it. There are many reasons why an artist would create an environmental artwork, for example: to address environmental issues affecting the Earth today, to show things that could be powered by nature or be interactive with phenomena natural (like lighting or earthquakes), or to show how people can coexist with nature, or perhaps use it as a way to help restore ecosystems in an aesthetic way. (greenmuseum) Based on the works of Michael Heizer, Walter de Maria and Robert Smithson, who created and expanded the wonderful genre of environmental art. The major concepts underlying their art will define the roots of this genre throughout history. Michael Heizer was born in Berkeley, California in 1944. He was the son of an anthropologist and the grandson of a geologist, which had a great influence on his work. He attended the San Francisco Art Institute from 1963 to 1964, then moved to New York in 1966. His early works consisted of abstract paintings and sculptures. In 1967, he began the new genre of “land art” or “earth art”. Double Negative was one of his most famous works of art, and according to doublenegative.com, it is considered "the best-known example of Earth art." These are “two trenches that cut the edge of the eastern Mormon mesa” (double negative). He began making a play called “city” in 1972 and continues to work on it to this day. In 1995,...... middle of paper......art.Works CitedTarasen, Nick. "Biography." “Double negative.” “The City”. Double negative: a website about Michael Hiezer. Retrieved 04/21/2011. http://doublenegative.tarasen.net/heizer.html “Walter de Maria”. The art we love. Retrieved 04/21/2011. http://artwelove.com/artist/-id/963b7d6d. “Michael Hiezer.” The art we love. Retrieved 04/21/2011. http://artwelove.com/artist/-id/e514dd37 “Walter De Maria: The Lightning Field. » Dia Art Foundation. 1995-2011. Retrieved 04/23/2011. http://www.diacenter.org/sites/page/56/1375 “Robert Smithson: The Spiral Pier.” » Dia Art Foundation. 1995-2011. Retrieved 04/23/2011. http://www.diaart.org/sites/page/59/1380 “Biography”. RobertSmithson.org. 2004. Retrieved 2011-04-24. http://robertsmithson.org/biography.php “What is environmental art?” » Greenmuseum.org. 2010. Retrieved 2011-04-21. http://www.greenmuseum.org/what_is_ea.php