Evolving: Robert Smithson

There is a beauty in the picturesque and the pastoral, but for Robert Smithson, this was not enough. An American land artist born in 1938, Smithson sought to explore nature in its context with man. He felt that there is a continually transforming relationship between humanity and the landscape, and the more destructive this relationship, the better a place it was for his art.

He sought locations that were scarred by industry, urbanization, or the rage of nature itself. This fascination with ruin began in the sixties, when he began to see potential in former industrial areas in New Jersey and the excavation of earth and rock, calling that which the dump trucks hauled out “the monuments of antiquity.”

Smithson’s interest was not only in the relationship between nature and man, but also in that of nature with itself. Oftentimes the destructive powers of the natural world supercede those of humanity, and he wished this to be reflected in his work. To this end, he saw his artwork as continual processes, as many environmental artists do. The creation of the piece was only the beginning. Its life lasted far longer, and never existed in a static state. This temporality was a cornerstone of his work, and he welcomed the changes nature would make in his handiwork.

In 1970, Smithson created his most famous work, Spiral Jetty. Located on the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake near Rozel Point in Utah, it is a 1,500 foot long spiral-shaped jetty made entirely of mud, salt crystals, and basalt rocks. Fifteen feet wide, it extends counterclockwise from the shore into the lake.

Smithson constructed the jetty during a drought, and so the water level of the lake was unusually low. When, in the next few years, the water level returned to normal, the jetty was entirely submerged. It remained that way for over three decades until another drought in 2004 exposed it once again. The next spring, though, the water level rose once again, partially submerging the jetty.

Water level change is not the only difference the piece has seen over its lifetime, though. Originally the jetty was black rock against ruddy waters, but now, due to salt encrustation and increased algae populations, it is mainly white rock against pink-hued water.

Smithson’s life was cut short in 1973, leaving the legacy of his works behind. Controversy has arisen over the conservation of his art – some feel that the jetty should be made to resemble its original form by putting a new layer of basalt rocks over it.

Surely, though, this would have contradicted his most fundamental views. He felt that land art should evolve with its surroundings, whether they are changes for the better or the worse. Destruction is a part of the life cycle, and art should be no exception. Nature is beautiful, but it is strong and powerful. Its effects should not be hidden or overlooked, but instead embraced as a continuation of creation.

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