jorge rodríguez-gerada plants land art portrait on the national mall
images by mark gulezian / national portrait gallery

 

 

 

for ‘out of many, one’ — the english translation of e pluribus unum — cuban american artist jorge rodríguez-gerada has amassed dozens of photographs of people taken in washington, D.C. to form a single composite portrait. the land art is set temporarily on the national mall — covering a surface of 6 acres — and is viewable from the newly reopened washington monument, as an interactive walk-through experience and via satellite. approximately 2,000 tons of sand, 800 tons of soil, 10,000 wooden pegs and 8 miles of string comprise the monumental installation, with the sand and dirt tilled back into the soil the national mall, following its temporary exhibition.

 

 


‘out of many, one’ — opening october 4 on the national mall
video courtesy of national portrait gallery, smithsonian institution

 

 

 

once the drawing of the portrait was completed, rodríguez-gerada translated it into a digital format. each line has been drawn out using high-precision satellite navigation receivers on the ground, and created using different colors of dirt and sand based on these illustrations.

jorge rodríguez-gerada plants out of many, one on the national mall
2,000 tons of sand, 800 tons of soil, 10,000 wooden pegs and 8 miles of string comprise the monumental installation

jorge rodríguez-gerada plants out of many, one on the national mall
viewable from the newly reopened washington monument

jorge rodríguez-gerada plants out of many, one on the national mall
each line has been drawn out using high-precision satellite navigation receivers on the ground

jorge rodríguez-gerada plants out of many, one on the national mall
the portrait reflects the unique makeup of the national mall’s 29 million annual visitors

jorge rodríguez-gerada plants out of many, one on the national mall
forming the face: eyes are drawn into the sand with lines of dirt

jorge rodríguez-gerada plants out of many, one on the national mall
sand and dirt will be tilled back into the soil during the restoration on the national mall