The art of the lawn

11 Aug 2007 5 Comments

by madsilence in Artist Spotlight, Creativity, Life, Popular Culture, Public Art Tags: Art

Photo by Chris Ramirez for The New York Times

An August 5, 2007 article in the New York Times, reproduced here, provided an introduction to the field carving artistry of Roger Baker. Baker, a man of many talents as well as an artist of “field carving, lawn mower art and large-form Americana,” recently crafted an 850,000-square-foot Purple Heart medal in a field in New York State. The image was created in a cooperative venture with New York State’s National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. Baker creates designs by using his Craftsman Hi-Wheel gas-powered push mower to vary the height of the cut grass.

Have you ever wondered how the baseball parks create those fancy geometric patterns in their fields? The designs are created through a process called lawn striping. The trick behind striping is bent grass, which reflects light differently depending on the direction of the bend. A roller attached to the back of the rider mower creates the bend, and the mower’s direction establishes the pattern. Go here for an introduction to lawn striping.

Related links:
Lawn Care & Striping
Why mow when you can stripe your lawn?
CBS Sunday Morning America Video: Keep Off The Grass!
How do they create patterns in a baseball field?
Mower history
U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association’s Official Web Site

~TAB