Spiral Jetty

We all learned about it during undergrad in a class like History of Land Art. Robert Smithson (OG Land Artist) created an Earthwork piece on the coast of the Great Salt Lake, Utah. Smithson created a jetty, a structure of stones projecting into a body of water, that spiraled three times into itself.


Smithson's sketch

Smithson writes, "Cezanne and his contemporaries were forced out of their studio by the photograph. Photography squares everything. Every kind of random view is caught in a rectangular format so that the romantic idea of going to the beyond, of the infinite is checked by this so that things become measured. The artist is contorting, distorting his figures instead of just accepting the photograph."

Smithson dealt mainly with the 'site vs. nonsite' paradigm in Art. The site refers to the place of origin of any work. The nonsite refers to the representation, or indexing, of the place of origin. Today, our lives are inundated with nonsite representations, the biggest culprits being painting, photography and television. Gustave Courbet was one of the first to catch onto this, and thus a leader in the Modern era, when he painted 'A Painter's Studio; A Real Allegory' in 1855.

So where is the site? The Dia Art Foundation offers pretty good directions. Expect more than 9 miles of dirt road each way. I drove a fwd Mazda 3, which in retrospect was a big mistake. Get an AWD or a car that is more that 8 inches off the ground.



Gesamtkunstwerk View


Close Up View


Remember that these photographs are just nonsite images of the site. Smithson, followed by Miwon Kwon, are both explicitly clear that true Land Art demands a physical presence by the viewer to be completed. The site is therefore timeless and universal, unlike the nonsite which can be seen clearly defined in a museum.

The Spiral Jetty has been submerged under water for nearly three decades. It wasn't until the Spring of 2010 that the water levels receded enough to expose both the Spiral Jetty and the salty lake bottom once again. Go now to experience a real site. Say 'No' to nonsites.