Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty is a remarkable work of art created by moving 6,650 tons of earth and basalt into the Great Salt Lake. The resulting spiral stretches 1,500 feet in length and is 15 feet wide. Despite its massive scale, the artwork humbly blends into its natural surroundings. These captivating photographs, taken by the artist shortly after the completion of the project in 1970, capture the intended environmental harmony that Smithson aimed to achieve.
Smithson’s Jetty lacks a defined edge or frame. Instead, it seamlessly merges with the water, with a shimmering spiral of liquid interweaving through its open rock structure. The appearance of the artwork constantly evolves, adapting to the dynamic conditions of the lake. As the water level and salinity fluctuate, the jetty transforms accordingly. The presence of salt crystals plays a significant role in this symbiotic relationship. Drawing from his knowledge of crystallography, Smithson anticipated the ghostly patina that salt would impart on the rocks. He emphasized that the spiral would continue to unfold, resembling a fractal pattern regardless of how closely one examines it. Every inch of Spiral Jetty becomes an intricate and dizzying connection point between the artwork and the world.
Visitors are encouraged to navigate the brackish curves of the spiral, deliberately inviting a sense of disorientation. Smithson wrote, “Following the spiral steps, we return to our origins, back to some pulpy protoplasm.” A visit to the jetty is a chance to dissolve into its surroundings, experiencing a profound connection with the surrounding milieu.
As a monument to contingency, Spiral Jetty rejects any notion of permanence, embracing perpetual change instead. Today, fifty years after Smithson’s passing, the lake’s ecosystem continues to struggle in the wake of a catastrophic drought. With its desiccated and exposed state, Spiral Jetty both reveals the urgency of this crisis and proposes an ethical approach to confront it—a way of being that acknowledges our fundamental inseparability from the Earth.
Note: This article is featured in the September 2023 print edition under the title “A Monument to Contingency.”
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