![]() The film was shot by Smithson and his wife Nancy Holt, and funded by Virgina Dawn and Douglas Christmas. In 1970 during the construction of the jetty, Robert Smithson wrote and directed a 32-minute color film, "Spiral Jetty". He began work on the jetty in April 1970. Spiral Jetty was the first of his pieces to require the acquisition of land rights and earthmoving equipment. It is reported that Smithson had a difficult time convincing a contractor to accept the unusual proposal. To move the rock into the lake, Smithson hired Bob Phillips of Parson's Construction of nearby Ogden, Utah, who used two dump trucks, a large tractor, and a front end loader to haul the 6,650 tons of rock and earth into the lake. While observing the construction of the piece from a helicopter, Smithson reportedly remarked "et in Utah ego" as a counterpoint to the famous pastoral Baroque painting et in Arcadia ego by Nicolas Poussin. Smithson was attracted to the Rozel Point site because of the stark anti-pastoral beauty and industrial remnants from nearby Golden Spike National Historic Site, as well as an old pier and a few unused oil rigs. Spiral Jetty is a work of art that was created at the north end of the Great Salt Lake by Robert Smithson in 1970. The red hue of the water is due to the presence of salt-tolerant bacteria and algae that thrive in the extreme 27 percent salinity of the lake's north arm, which was isolated from fresh water sources by the building of a causeway by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1959. Smithson reportedly chose the Rozel Point site based on the blood-red color of the water and its connection with the primordial sea. The water level of the lake varies with precipitation in the mountains surrounding the area, revealing the jetty in times of drought and submerging it during times of normal precipitation. Now in the collection of the New York DIA Center of the Arts, the condition of Spiral Jetty is being documented by DIA since its reappearance.Built on the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake near Rozel Point in Utah entirely of mud, salt crystals, basalt rocks and water, Spiral Jetty forms a 1,500-foot-long (460 m), 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) counterclockwise coil jutting from the shore of the lake. Since then, water level fluctuations have allowed episodic re-emergences. Spiral Jetty is a basalt spiral 1500 feet long and 15 feet wide, which protrudes from the shore of the Great Salt Lake, on submerged land leased from the. Rising water levels caused the earthwork to be submerged just a few years after its completion, remaining as such until the 1990s. Constructed at an elevation of 4,195 feet, it was intended to appear and disappear as the lake’s water level varied. The design reflects Smithson’s interest in entropy and was influenced by the physical nature of the site which suggested the spiral form. ![]() Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker. Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty, 1970, Rozel Point, Great Salt Lake, Utah, 1500 (if unwound) x 15 foot spiral of basalt, sand, and soil Holt-Smithson Foundation Speakers: Dr. Originally very dark rock against reddish water, salt encrustations have created a much whiter form against pink-hued water. Drought and rain govern how this work of art is seen. Smithson was attracted to this remote location by the landscape’s stark qualities, abandoned industrial relics, and the presence of red-tinged algae which grows in the otherwise lifeless northern arm of the salt lake. The UMFA is presenting artworks including never-before-exhibited film, photographs from our permanent collection, and sculpture. The 1,500-foot long counter-clockwise spiral, built of earth, basalt rock, and precipitated salt crystal, reaches out into the Great Salt Lake near Rozel Point, Utah. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Robert Smithson’s monumental earthwork Spiral Jetty (1970), located off Rozel Point in the north arm of Great Salt Lake. This earthwork, designed by the artist and sculptor Robert Smithson in 1970, is an icon in the field of land art. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |