Spiral Jetty
| Spiral Jetty | |
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| Artist | Robert Smithson |
| Year | 1970 |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Medium | Basalt rock, salt crystals, earth, water |
| Dimensions | 4.572 m × 457.2 m (15 ft × 1500 ft) |
| Location | Rozel Point, Great Salt Lake, Utah |
| Coordinates: 41°26′16″N 112°40′8″W / 41.43778°N 112.66889°W | |
| Owner | Dia Art Foundation |
 Smithson, Spiral Jetty, 1970, Smarthistory
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http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications_resources/videos/focus/spiral_jetty_sunrise.html Sunrise over Spiral Jetty], J. Paul Getty Trust
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Spiral Jetty is an earthwork sculpture constructed in April 1970 that is considered to be the central work of American sculptor Robert Smithson. Smithson documented the construction of the sculpture in a 32-minute color film also titled Spiral Jetty.
Built on the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake near Rozel Point in Utah entirely of mud, salt crystals, and basalt rocks, 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.
In 1999, through the generosity of the artist Nancy Holt, Smithson’s wife, and the Estate of Robert Smithson, the artwork was donated to Dia Art Foundation.
Since the initial construction of Spiral Jetty, those interested in its fate have dealt with questions of proposed changes in land use in the area surrounding the sculpture.
Robert Smithson's earthwork Spiral Jetty was constructed in April 1970 on the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake near Rozel Point in Utah. The sculpture is built of mud, precipitated salt crystals, and basalt rocks. The sculpture forms a 1,500-foot-long (460 m), 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) counterclockwise coil jutting from the shore of the lake. The sculpture is sometimes visible and sometimes submerged, depending upon the water level of the Great Salt Lake.
Smithson reportedly chose the Rozel Point site based on the blood-red color of the water and its connection with the primordial sea. 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 freshwater sources by the building of a causeway by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1959.
Smithson was reportedly 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. While observing the construction of the piece from a helicopter, Smithson reportedly remarked "et in Utah ego" as a counterpoint to the pastoral Baroque painting et in Arcadia ego by Nicolas Poussin.
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