Sacred Art of the Earth

In this fascinating study, Korp explores the various ways in which cultures have defined sacred spaces and the ways in which those spaces have been immortalized in various works of art. Korp argues that space is consecrated in the place where the barrier between sacred and profane is so thin that a creative ""irruption"" of one realm into the other occurs. Korp makes useful distinctions between hierophany, the experience of the sacred, karatophany, the experience of the sacred presence in landscape, and theophany, the attribution of the sacred to the presence of a particular divinity in a particular place. Korp reviews the major ancient sacred places on the North American landscape. She also discusses some works by contemporary artists of landscape sculpture. While one-quarter of Korp's book is endnotes and bibliography, it lacks an index. Even so, Korp puts forth a good discussion of how various modes of human artifice attempt to complement and emphasize the sacred character of landscape. (Apr.)