Earthwork (2010)

Earthwork tells the story of real-life crop artist Stan Herd (Academy Award nominee John Hawkes) and his quest to create a temporary work of environmental art on a piece of land owned by real-estate magnate Donald Trump. Stan grew up on a farm. Over time, he began to look at rural landscapes in the same way that an experienced artist sees an empty canvas. But unlike paintings, Stan's artwork is fleeting -- always destined to be swallowed up by the earth. The year was 1994; Stan was financially destitute and looking for a way to share his art with the world when he received a phone call from a noted photographer stating that Donald Trump was commissioning arts groups for a land beautification project in New York City. Eager to get wider exposure for his art and provide for his wife, Jan, and their son, Evan, Herd left Kansas and prepared to leave his mark on the world -- literally. In the following months, the gifted artist constructed his massive environmental artwork across multiple acres using little more than soil, rocks, and plants. Later, when the work became too heavy for one man to shoulder, Herd assembled a crew consisting of homeless men living in an abandoned underground railroad tunnel, and commenced creating a work of art so spectacular that it could only be appreciated from up in the clouds. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi