When i get some extra time, id like to expand this. Now with its reappearance, this book is especially timely, historical and memorable. As stewards of spiral jetty, dia is committed to recording changes to the work over time through photographic documentation. Robert smithsons earthwork spiral jetty 1970 is located at rozel point peninsula on the northeastern shore of great salt lake.
Earthwork in the great salt lake, utah, as seen from the 1,600 pound ikonos satellite, 423 miles up in space. Robert smithson, spiral jetty 1970 i asked kelly kivland, a curator at dia art foundation, which owns spiral jetty, what this means for the artists vision. On the north edge of the great salt lake, robert smithsons masterpiece sits peacefully, awaiting visitors willing to make the long trek to see one of the. Since 2012, a geospatial aerial photographer has documented spiral jetty twice a year, in may and october. In 1970 he created spiral jetty, a snaillike coil of heaped stones that extends far out into the great salt lake in. It was created in 1970 and still exists although it has often been submerged by the fluctuating lake level. Not too long after that it was submerged as the great salt lake rose throughout the 80s. 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. 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 by hikmet sidney loe salt lake city public library worksofart by robert smithson are estate of robert. Drought and rain govern how this work of art is seen. 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. Smithson documented the construction of the sculpture in a 32minute color film also titled spiral jetty.
Learning from new jersey and elsewhere find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Robert smithson s spiral jetty is the poster child for the antiformalist earth art movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Birth namerobert irving smithson born january 2, 1938 passaic, new jersey died july 20, 1973 aged 35 near. 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.
Utah spiral jetty rozel point great salt lake duration. Jul 05, 2009 spiral jetty, earthwork extraordinaire. As the great salt lake dries up, spiral jetty may be marooned. This article examines the land artwork spiral jetty by robert smithson as an art. Apr 17, 2017 interest in robert smithsons landwork, spiral jetty 1970, peaked for me recently when reading geoff dyers interesting collection of travel works, white sands 2016.
American artist robert smithson 193873 chose rozel point on the north. May 15, 2016 spiral jetty robert smithson, 1970 for utah state magazine duration. Jun 18, 2014 the source of robert smithsons spiral. 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. Robert smithson spiral jetty, 1970 rozel point, great salt lake, utah black basalt rock, salt crystals, earth, water coil 1500 feet long and approximately 15 feet wide dia art foundation. Bring it with you when you visit the artwork, and let it guide you in asking questions about the art. Robert smithson spiral jetty from atop rozel point, in midapril 2005. Using robert smithsons spiral jetty 1970 as a case study, i have outlined four key. Robert smithson, the spiral jetty 1970 the salt flats of the great salt lake, around the spiral jetty. Request pdf on sep 1, 2003, david joselit and others published robert smithson. Spiral jetty, the work of robert smithson 19381973, jutted out into great salt lake in utah fig. One of the most remarkable examples of land art is robert smithsons spiral. Jul 10, 2016 the spiral jetty is an earthwork sculpture by the late robert smithson.
The hard color hard form affirmed by mogensen in an early statement by carl andre stands in contrast to parrinos perverse play of hard color soft form. By the time i was old enough to visit the 1,500 foot rock, earth and salt crystal coil, it had long been submerged by the waters of the great salt lake, which rose to their normal levels two years after the works completion in 1970. 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. 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. 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.
Spiral jetty, robert smithsons land art masterwork the. Robert smithsons spiral jetty in great salt lake at rozel point. Massive, remote, and seemingly useless, spiral jetty has the feel of a lost workone so far out of sight as to be out of mind. Spiral jetty is the more wellknown work, but partially buried woodshed is a key work and i would like to see it remain an article on its own. It consists of some 6500 tons of basalt, earth and salt. Built on the northeastern shore of the great salt lake near rozel point in utah. Spiral jetty serves as a site from which to view the surroundings the prehistoric environment that smithson selected for it. 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. Nov 18, 2015 robert smithson is one of the most enigmatic artists of the late 20th century.
Jetty, located at rozel point peninsula on the northeastern shore of great salt. Spiral jetty, robert smithson 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. Smithson documented the construction of the sculpture in a 32minute color film also titled spiral jetty built on the northeastern shore of the great salt lake near rozel point in utah entirely of mud, salt crystals, and basalt rocks, spiral. 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. As a public health precaution due to covid19 coronavirus, all smithsonian museums are closed temporarily and all public programs, events, and tours are canceled through july 1. Robert smithson, the spiral jetty 1972 alice channers work often begins with something smalla tiny detail, an overlooked object, a common part of our everyday that we take for granted. The spiral jetty 1972, smithsons major earthwork, enjoys iconic status as a masterpiece of the sitespecific tradition. Robert smithson is a seminal figure in the history of conceptual art. I n july of 2014 i went to find robert smithsons spiral jetty in the utah desert, about two hours by car from salt lake city. Jul 11, 2012 my interest in land art began in childhood, when i first saw photos of robert smithsons spiral jetty, then newly built, in a magazine. 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. Spiral jetty is a portrait of smithson s monumental earthwork of the same name at rozel point in the great salt lake, utah. In 1972, smithson made a film about the jetty, also titled spiral jetty, rife. Exploring robert smithsons earthwork through time and place hikmet sidney loe a twentiethcentury master revealed the great salt lake and a new way to think about art through a monumental rendition of one of natures basic shapes.
Entropic discourse in robert smithsons spiral jetty and henry thoreaus. In 1970 during the construction of the jetty, robert smithson wrote and directed a 32minute color film, spiral jetty. 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. The source of robert smithsons spiral the new yorker. A loud abrasive buzzing bellows from the nightstand and i raise my head, only to be blinded by. Robert smithson focused his short but influential career on a reconsideration.
He also included shots of found maps, merging the continents of the juras sic. The land art movement is perhaps best known for earthworks, such as robert smithsons iconic spiral jetty in the great salt lake in utah 1970, michael heizers double negative, cut into the mormon mesa in nevada 1970, or robert morris observatory in the netherlands 1977. Baseline documentation and a system to monitor spiral jettys condition are necessary before any conservation treatment can be considered and developed. Photograph john cliett d a art foundation new york 2433. In 1959, robert smithson, a young abstract painter who would eventually become known as a pioneer of land art, went back. Pdf spiral jetty 1970, robert smithsons seminal earthwork, is a 460 meter long. To get there from salt lake city take i15 north approximately 65 miles to the corinne exit exit 365, just west of. His monumental earthen sculptures such as spiral jetty 1970, were inspired by the minimalist work of his contemporaries, as well as geology, science fiction, and the concept of entropy. Completed in april 1970, spiral jetty is an iconic earthwork and smithson s most renowned piece. Robert smithson was a seminal american artist and writer known for pioneering the land art movement. Sep 29, 2015 the great salt lake in utah, which houses robert smithsons famous land work, spiral jetty, is facing the most critical drought in history. Pdf entropic discourse in robert smithsons spiral jetty and. The spiral jetty is an earthwork sculpture by the late robert smithson. Its appeal rests in part on the surrealist irony of the concept.
Seen from above, robert smithsons spiral jetty emerges. Feb, 2016 spiral jetty robert smithson, 1970 for utah state magazine duration. Yet the spiral jetty, more often reported on than seen directly, exists at least in part as a condition of documentary. 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.
Photograph john cliett d a art foundation new york 2433 robert smithson spiral from sowk sowk1004 at hku. Robert smithson, the collected writings edited, with an. Robert smithsons spiral jetty faces drought artnet news. Anyone interested in smithson, the artist, filmaker, philosopher and writer will want to read this.
Spiral jetty was the first of his pieces to require the acquisition of land rights and earthmoving equipment. Robert smithson spiral jetty, 1970 dia art foundation. Spiral jetty is an earthwork sculpture constructed in april 1970 that is considered to be the most important work of american sculptor robert smithson. By expanding, stretching, and enlarging this element, she makes visible not only an inherent intricacy, but also an awkward intimacy. Robert smithson s earthwork sculpture the spiral jetty was done in 1970. Spiral jetty 1970 is an earthwork in the form of a 1,500footlong 460 m, 15footwide 4.
824 428 437 1206 110 1375 896 1324 147 1125 676 297 511 115 796 1225 228 1234 764 991 1088 1521 360 124 1001 506 1438 250 1653 1671 425 1504 1253 1221 1013 1040 1433 856 1393