This is the famous Spiral Jetty, created by artist Robert Smithson. It is made from rocks and mud procured from the shore of the lake. Sometimes it is under water, but with our seven years of drought, it is well above the water line.
The Jetty was created in 1970, and time has really made something wonderful. Salt has encrusted the rocks, now, and it is an amazing thing. I didn't expect to be so entranced by it, but walking on it, interacting with it, seeing my kids play on it: it really is art and it really is amazing. Certainly worth the 90 minute trip!
Smithson's Spiral Jetty - powerful sculptural placement of stone - always under effect by nature. An abstraction - always delineated from the reality of photographs of it.
The Great Salt Lake IS rising again, thanks to much snow and rain this past Spring. Whether or not it will cover this up is not yet certain. It has been covered before, however. Part of Smithson's reason for putting this artwork here is so that it would interact with the lake, with visitors, and with the local environment.
That's amazing! I still have a book with this type of artwork in it, including the spiral Jetty, that was given to me back in the early 80's. The book is called Earthworks and Beyond. It's filled with contemporary art in the landscape, meaning out of the landscape itself. I haven't seen any recent pictures and had forgotten all about it. Thanks!!!
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