In 1968, Herbert Bayer had been living in Aspen and working at the Aspen Institute for over 20 years.  While his work was prolific and the mediums he worked in were many, he had little recognition outside of Aspen.  In October of 1968, the Dwan Gallery in New York City organized the exhibition EARTHWORKS, in which Virginia Dwan (owner of the gallery) presented the works, primarily in photographs, and introduced the artists of this new movement – Earthworks, also called Land Art, with Herbert Bayer’s work at the Aspen Center for Humanistic Studies (The Aspen Institute) included in the exhibition.  

After this national exposure, Bayer continued to work primarily in Aspen, though he partnered with former bauhaus colleagues on work in Mexico and on the east coast.  His next major work outside of Aspen was Double Ascension in Los Angeles, completed in 1972, dedicated on January 20, 1973, and commissioned by ARCO.  Fourteen feet high and thirty-three feet long, the painted steel sculpture is mounted in a sixty -foot diameter pool.  This is the first of several works outside of Aspen that I’ll be writing about.