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Environmental Art

Figure 57a Spiral Jetty, 1970;
artist: Robert Smithson (American sculptor and conceptual artist, 1938-1973);
Mud, Black basalt rock, salt crystals, earth, and water, 45720.0 x 457.2 cm (18000 x 180 in.);
Matthew Kowal © Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0.
Figure 57b Spiral Jetty, 1970;
artist: Robert Smithson (American sculptor and conceptual artist, 1938-1973);
Mud, Black basalt rock, salt crystals, earth, and water, 45720.0 x 457.2 cm (18000 x 180 in.);
Matthew Kowal © Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0.

Object/Work🔺

  • Catalog Level:🔺 item (value type: controlled list)
  • Type:🔺 earthworks (value type: authority)

Classification🔺

  • Terms:🔺
    environmental art
    Modern Art
    American Art (value type: controlled list)

Titles or Names🔺

  • Text:🔺 Spiral Jetty (value type: free text)
    Preference: preferred (value type: controlled list)

Creation🔺

  • Creator Description:🔺 Robert Smithson (American sculptorand conceptual artist, 1938-1973) (value type: free text)

  • Identity:🔺 Smithson, Robert (_value type: authority)
    Role:🔺 conceptual artist

  • Creation Date:🔺 April 1970 (value type: free text)
    Earliest:🔺 1970-04-01 Latest:🔺 1970-04-30 (value type: controlled format)

  • Creation Place/Original Location: Great Salt Lake (Utah, United States) (value type: free text and/or controlled format)

Measurements🔺

  • Dimensions Description:🔺 45720.0 x 457.2 cm (18000 x 180 in.) (value type: free text)

  • Value: 45720.0 Unit: cm Type: height
    Value: 457.2 Unit: cm Type: width (value type: controlled format and controlled lists)

Materials and Techniques🔺

  • Description:🔺 black basalt rock, salt crystals, earth, and water (value type: free text)

  • Material Name:
    basalt rock
    salt
    earth
    water (value type: authority)

Subject Matter🔺

  • Indexing Terms:🔺
    nonrepresentational art
    site-specific art
    spiral
    lake
    water
    entropy
    destruction
    ephemerality (value type: authority)

Descriptive Note

  • Text: This site-specific sculpture, located at Rozel Point on the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake, is a 1,500-foot-long, counterclockwise spiral constructed out of black basalt rocks, salt crystals, earth, and water. The materials, all Indigenous elements of the Great Salt Lake landscape, were hauled by truck to facilitate the sculpture’s assembly. Unlike clockwise spirals, which are often considered to be powerful and positive forces, this counterclockwise spiral represents Smithson’s interest in entropy and destruction; the changing water levels and rocky landscape of the Great Salt Lake can alter the work at any time. The sculpture is most visible during the autumn months when the lake’s water level is at its lowest.(value type: free text)

  • Citation: Dia Art Foundation Collection online (value type: authority)
    Page: accessed 19 July 2024 (value type: free text)

  • Citation: J. Paul Getty Museum online (value type: authority)
    Page: accessed 29 July 2024 (value type: free text)

Current Location🔺

  • Repository Name/Geographic Location:🔺 Great Salt Lake (Utah, United States) (value type: authority)

  • Repository Name/Geographic Location:🔺 Dia Art Foundation (New York, New York, United States)
    Repository Numbers:🔺 1999.014 (value type: free text)

NOTE: 🔺 indicates a core CDWA category.

Revised 29 July 2024
by Emily Benoff

Figure 57a Spiral Jetty, 1970;
artist: Robert Smithson (American sculptor and conceptual artist, 1938-1973);
Mud, Black basalt rock, salt crystals, earth, and water, 45720.0 x 457.2 cm (18000 x 180 in.);
Matthew Kowal © Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0.
Figure 57b Spiral Jetty, 1970;
artist: Robert Smithson (American sculptor and conceptual artist, 1938-1973);
Mud, Black basalt rock, salt crystals, earth, and water, 45720.0 x 457.2 cm (18000 x 180 in.);
Matthew Kowal © Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0.
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