Search

The article focuses on the work of American minimal and land artist Robert Smithson. The author describes Smithson's earthwork entitled "Broken Circle/Spiral Hill" (1971) inspired by the prehistoric era and located near Emmen, Netherlands, mentions the notion of primitivism, and notes the artist's use of the concept of entropy to define his idea about the imminence of the end of the world. His article "A Sedimentation of the Mind: Earth Projects" from 1968 is discussed. The Nazca Lines Site in Peru and Stonehenge in England are also mentioned.

The article discusses the works of American artist Robert Smithson, particularly his crystalline structures and his use of maps. The author discusses Smithson's passion for crystallography, his concept of earthworks, later called land art, and his "Spiral Jetty" and "nonsites" works. Topics of discussion include his article titled "The Crystal Land," published in 1966, in which he shares his exploration of mineral quarries in New Jersey and an analysis concerning cartography and the inspirational method, which allowed Smithson to create the abstract form of his sculptures including the "Gyrostasis" and the "Sinistral Spiral." Also examined is the link the artist established between crystal and maps.

The article discusses time and photography in American art of the 1960s, with reference to the essay "Muybridge Moments," by art theorist Dan Graham, and the element of time in pictures of movement. Topics discussed include American artist Sol LeWitt and his two homages to Muybridge, "Muybridge I" and "Muybridge II;" artist Ed Ruscha and the concept of cinematographic illusion, which understands time and movement as a series of instants; and the work of photographer Mel Bochner, with reference to the axis of time.