Review by john haber of robert smithson at the whitney museum, with thoughts on spiral jetty, minimalism, earthworks, sitespecific art, and outdoor sculpture brought indoors, and of floating island, the realization of an earthwork by robert smithson, in the hudson river, in the east river, and near hudson river park, new york city, by nancy holt, minetta brook arts organization, the. Martin to speak of an angloamerican connection, as opposed to, say, a french or german connection, is an invitation to speak about different. In 1970 he created spiral jetty, a snaillike coil of heaped stones that extends far out into the great salt lake in. Martin, robert smithson and the angloamerican picturesque, angloamerican exchange in postwar sculpture, 19451975 getty, 2011 164 robert smithson and the angloamerican picturesque timothy d. For two years, he was enrolled at the art students league in new york and, for a briefer period, at the brooklyn museum school. Using over six thousand tons of black basalt rocks and earth from the site, smithson formed a coil 1,500 feet long and 15 feet wide that winds counterclockwise off the shore into the water. Robert smithsons spiral jetty tests the boundaries of compositionality and what an experience of an art work can be in appearing as a mark in space, a series. Spiral jetty robert smithson, 1970 for utah state magazine duration. However, the large earthwork is not the only evidence of smithson in utah. In 1953, as a highschool student, he won a scholarship to new yorks art students league, where he studied in the evenings for the next two years, also taking classes at the brooklyn museum school in 1956.
Robert smithson s spiral jetty is the poster child for the antiformalist earth art movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Explaining smithsons spiral jetty art agenda phaidon. Reaching the innermost point, smithson gazes out at the spiral path, lake, and mountains. An overview of change utah geological and mineral survey, department of natural resources, 2nd ed. Not too long after that it was submerged as the great salt lake rose throughout the 80s. Robert smithson s iconic earthwork spiral jetty 1970 is a 1,500 foot long and 15 foot wide coil of local basalt rock and earth that extends into the red waters of the great salt lake in utah. Spiral jetty was the first of his pieces to require the acquisition of land rights and earthmoving equipment. Foundation is the owner of robert smithsons spiral jetty 1970, and leases the lake bed where the earthwork is located from the state of utah division of forestry, fire and state lands. While located in a relatively barren, unpopulated place, smithson chose the site not only because of the vast surrounding landscape, but with reference to nearby. Feb, 2016 spiral jetty robert smithson, 1970 for utah state magazine duration. Robert smithson, hotel palenque, january 24, 1972 fine arts auditorium, university of utah robert smithson is best known for spiral jetty, his 1,500footlong, 15footwide earthwork of basalt rocks that extends out into utahs great salt lake at rozel point. Made of black basalt rocks and earth gathered from the site, spiral jetty is a 15footwide coil that stretches more than 1,500 feet into the lake.
In 1970 during the construction of the jetty, robert smithson wrote and directed a 32minute color film, spiral jetty. Pdf robert smithsons spiral jetty nathaniel rosenthalis. A loud abrasive buzzing bellows from the nightstand and i raise my head, only to be blinded by. A coil of earth, salt, and stone that smithson built into great salt lake, utah, the piece is a tribute to the movements scale and engineering as well as to its visionary union of art and nature. Pdf robert smithsons spiral jetty hikmet loe academia. Robert smithson s earthwork sculpture the spiral jetty was done in 1970. It consists of some 6500 tons of basalt, earth and salt. Robert smithsons monumental spiral jetty 1970 is a 1,500footlong coil of earth and basalt that extends into the water from the northern shore of utahs great salt lake. The mythic scale of history and labor at spiral jetty.
Time crystals is the first exhibition in australia dedicated to the work of american artist robert smithson 193873. Robert smithson, spiral jetty, 1970, rozel point, great salt lake, utah, 1500 if unwound x 15 foot spiral of basalt, sand, and soil holtsmithson foundation speakers. Thats probably pretty close to what went through artist robert smithsons head when he needed something productive to do. Robert smithson, spiral jetty, 1970, rozel point, great salt lake, utah, 1500 if unwound x 15 foot spiral of basalt, sand, and soil, holtsmithson foundation. Robert smithson designed and directed the construction of his iconic work the spiral jetty in april 1970. Robert smithson expressed a profound interest in the arts from an early age. Robert smithson is one of the most enigmatic artists of the late 20th century. Maria orvananos and eva quintana crelis, alias, 2009, 186 pp. While still attending high school in clifton, new jersey, during the mid 1950s, he attended art classes on the side in new york city. Nancy holt, sun tunnels 197376 great basin desert, utah collection dia art foundation with support from holtsmithson foundation. Robert smithsons the film, by smithsons widow, artist nancy holt, is entitled breaking ground.
Robert smithson s earthwork spiral jetty 1970 is located at rozel point peninsula on the northeastern shore of great salt lake. The spirals coil is 1,500 feet long and approximately 15 feet wide. Robert smithson, the spiral jetty 1972, in cooke, robert smithson, p. Jetty, located at rozel point peninsula on the northeastern shore of great salt. Robert smithsonwas born in 1938 in passaic, new jersey. Birth namerobert irving smithson born january 2, 1938 passaic, new jersey died july 20, 1973 aged 35 near. Support for this collection of essays was provided in part by the marriner s. Smithson documented the construction of the sculpture in a 32minute color film also titled spiral jetty. Robert smithsons earthwork, spiral jetty 1970, an icon of the land art movement of the 1960s and 1970s, is located on the northern shores of utahs great salt lake. Ve mas ideas sobre arte, esculturas y intervenciones artisticas. An earthwork sculpture built by robert smithson in the great salt lake only reemerges during drought.
In march 2009, dia art foundation, which acquired the work as a gift from the robert smithson estate in 1999, approached the getty conservation institute gci seeking a simple, consistent. The source of robert smithsons spiral the new yorker. Robert smithsons spiral jetty in great salt lake at rozel point. Earthwork in the great salt lake, utah, as seen from the 1,600 pound ikonos satellite, 423 miles up in space. Time crystals curated by dr amelia barikin and professor chris mcauliffe robert smithson. Robert smithsons spiral jetty by hikmet sidney loe salt lake city public library worksofart by robert smithson are estate of robert. I bound out of bed, gianfranco gorgonis seminal photogaph of robert smithsons iconic earth work on repeat in my head as i shower and. Best known for his radical land art of the 1960s and early 1970s, smithson. May 15, 2016 spiral jetty robert smithson, 1970 for utah state magazine duration. With its beautiful, lakeside setting and the vastness of its scale, its. Now with its reappearance, this book is especially timely, historical and memorable. One of the most remarkable examples of land art is robert smithsons spiral. Utah spiral jetty rozel point great salt lake duration.
Smithsons spiral jetty 1970, a 1,500footlong coil of mud, salt crystals and basalt rock extending into the great salt lake in utah, is a monument of earthworks, or land art. Robert smithsons spiral jetty, located at rozel point on the northeastern shore of great salt lake in utah, is one of the most remarkable examples of land art. Robert smithson spiral jetty, 1970 robert smithsons spiral jetty. Robert smithson spiral jetty from atop rozel point, in midapril 2005. Spiral jetty 1970 is an earthwork in the form of a 1,500footlong 460 m, 15footwide 4. Spiral jetty serves as a site from which to view the surroundings the prehistoric environment that smithson selected for it. Pdf spiral jetty 1970, robert smithsons seminal earthwork, is a 460 meter long and 4. Drought and rain govern how this work of art is seen. Mar 09, 2014 smithsons spiral jetty 1970, a 1,500footlong coil of mud, salt crystals and basalt rock extending into the great salt lake in utah, is a monument of earthworks, or land art. Seen from above, robert smithsons spiral jetty emerges dramatically from the rocky shores of utahs great salt. Spiral jetty is an earthwork sculpture constructed in april 1970 that is considered to be the most important work of american sculptor robert smithson. Bring it with you when you visit the artwork, and let it guide you in asking questions about the art. Robert smithson, spiral jetty 1970 great salt lake, utah collection of dia art foundation. Robert smithson, the spiral jetty 1970 walking on the railroad before traversing the jetty underscores the physical and conceptual relationship between the two sites.
Lynne cooke and karen kelly, university of california press dia art foundation, 2005. Spiral jetty, robert smithsons land art masterwork the. Take, for example, robert smithson s spiral jetty 1970 located at rozel point, great salt lake, utah. Smithson built a masterpiece from local materials, one that spirals counterclockwise into the lake and appears or is submerged with fluctuations in the lakes locally red. The monumental earthwork spiral jetty 1970 was created by artist robert smithson and is located off rozel point in the north arm of great salt lake. It was created in 1970 and still exists although it has often been submerged by the fluctuating lake level. In 1959, robert smithson, a young abstract painter who would eventually become known as. Jul 10, 2016 the spiral jetty is an earthwork sculpture by the late robert smithson. Find more prominent pieces of installation at best visual art database. The jetty is a sitespecific work, meant to interact with changing conditions of the surrounding water, land, and atmosphere. In a 1972 interview, smithson suggests that spiral jetty was intended to both withstand and be intimately involved with the climate changes and natural disturbances of the site, particularly the lake.
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