Matthew Moore is an artist and fourth-generation farmer based in Arizona. Some time last year he and his family sold a portion of their farmland to a developer who has begun to turn that land into a new housing development. Last summer Moore acquired the plans for this development, and on a site exactly adjacent to where the houses will eventually be erected, Moore has created an exact replica of the development—in wheat. According to Moore:
The proposed earthwork uses the exact map of the first planned community to be erected on my family's land. The acreage the development will soon engulf will be planted in three types of grain. Each variety of wheat has been chosen specifically for its color to aid in crop map, black wheat for the asphalt, reddish/brown for the houses, white for the background. Every house and road will be depicted in the 42 acre field, as it will appear on the landscape in the future.
Moore’s crops are nearly matured, so there should be some even better images to come in the ensuing weeks. Next year, I imagine, will be even more impressive as the actual development will be constructed right next door. Keep checking back at his site to see how the project continues to progress. Rotations will also be a part of the Arizona State Museum of Art's upcoming exhibition, New American City: Artists Look Forward, slated for the fall of this year.
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