Robert Smithson
1938-1973
Robert Smithson, (born Jan. 2, 1938, Passaic, N.J., U.S.—died July 20, 1973, Amarillo, Texas), American sculptor and writer associated with the Land Art movement. His large-scale sculptures, called Earthworks, engaged directly with nature and were created by moving and constructing with vast amounts of soil and rocks. Smithson preferred to work with ruined or exhausted sites in nature. Using the earth as his palette, he created archetypal forms: spirals, circles, and mounds. Although, like other land artists of the late 1960s and early '70s—including Walter De Maria, Nancy Holt, Michael Heizer, and Carl Andre—Smithson chose to make his major work outside what he and his colleagues considered a compromised gallery system, he nevertheless also created smaller objects, which he called "nonsites," for museum and gallery settings. These nonsite pieces employed topographic maps of an area juxtaposed with minimalist displays of materials taken from the actual sites as a form of pseudoarchaeological evidence that made reference to the "real" outdoor work. He also documented his work extensively with photographs and film. Smithson was largely self-taught. He earned a two-year scholarship…
Films