The one hundred circle farm

Abstract

"In The One Hundred Circle Farm, renowned American photographer Emmet Gowin (b. 1941) presents stunning aerial scenes of center-pivot irrigation systems in the Western and Midwestern United States. This type of farming is a method of watering crops in which irrigation equipment rotates around a pivot, creating a circle of irrigated land, often in the midst of otherwise dry terrain. This system creates a circular pattern in the crops when viewed from above, making striking agricultural crop circles. While this type of irrigation is used for its efficient water usage, it emphasizes the artificiality of the system, leaving very noticeable indications where the fallow, unwatered corners of farmland are left unused. In this book, Gowin offers a unique view of this phenomenon that sheds light on human impact on the environment. Documenting the physical impact of pivot irrigation, The One Hundred Circle Farm challenges the viewer to contemplate our complex relationship with - and domination over - the landscape. Filled with stark, beautiful black-and-white and color compositions of light and form, this book bears witness to our long-standing relationship with the earth, our agricultural systems, and our planet's most precious resource: water"--