sitespecific

Site-specific refers to art, architecture, or performance that is created to exist in a particular place, with the location itself essential to the work’s meaning, form, or function. In site-specific practice, the artwork is designed in response to the physical characteristics, history, and social context of the site, and often cannot be moved without losing its meaning or causing damage to the piece.

Originating in the 1960s and 1970s within conceptual and minimalist movements, site-specificity emphasizes that location and environment are not merely backdrops but active elements of the work. Although some works are permanent, many are temporary, performative, or contingent on ongoing access to the site. The approach is widely used across visual art, sculpture, performance, and landscape architecture.

Key examples include Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson (1970), an earthwork built into the Great Salt Lake that engages with geology and climate; Tilted Arc by Richard Serra (1981), a large-scale urban sculpture that was dismantled in 1989 after debate over public space; and Running Fence by Christo and Jeanne-Claude (1976–77), a temporary installation that defined a boundary through a rural landscape. The Gates, also by Christo and Jeanne-Claude (2005), installed fabric arches in New York City's Central Park, illustrating how a site-specific project can transform a familiar urban environment.

Site-specific practice continues to influence contemporary art and design by foregrounding place, audience interaction, and the ethics of making in a given location.