So what’s this all about?

The earthwork ‘Spiral Jetty’ was designed and constructed by artist Robert Smithson in April of 1970.

The Spiral Jetty was called by the New York Times, “the most famous work of American art that almost nobody has ever seen in the flesh.” This could be due to its location just off of the Rotzel Point peninsula on the northeastern shore of Great Salt Lake in Utah. Tucked just over a mountain from the nearest town, it went without much local notice for years after its creation. However; its submersion due to rising water levels just a couple years after its construction also doubtless played a part. The Spiral Jetty was submerged for 20 years only 2 years after it was built, lost to salt and water from 1972 to 1993. It then peeked above water for three more years before disappearing again from 1996 to 2002.

“How did anyone even know it existed?” You might ask.

The artwork existed at almost a mythological level for the first 22 years of its life, spread through a written work and a video that Smithson made. The legend grew as the materials circulated, critically acclaimed works by Smithson in their own right. Its time underwater only added to its allure.

The earthwork is composed of over 6,000 tons of basalt, rocks, and earth from the site. The materials form a spiral that is 1,500 feet long and 15 feet wide, winding around itself counter clockwise as it extends into the lake. Photographs of the construction show the massive dump trucks emptying their precious cargo into the shallow water, while large diggers assist in shifting and moving the mass of earth into the final form.

Want to see how it looks as water levels have changed over the last 8 years? Take a peek at dia beacon’s documentation here

Geometry:

The geometry of the Spiral Jetty is a spiral, the offset created through the act of mounding the rocks and dirt into the final jetty