Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt

Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty Film Still, 1970

In the seventh week of student led presentations we discussed the works created by Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt. Starting with Robert Smithson, we considered the concepts behind Spiral Jetty. The general concept our class analyzed was that walking down the jetty is meant to be like circling back to one's center, or roots. As the class examined both Spiral Jetty, Sun Tunnels, and other works by these artists, it was brought up that they look very simple, but that the process of creating these works is vast. We questioned the importance of understanding the process and how that may change the perception of the work, and whether that understanding of process is a success or failure.

Nancy Holt, Sunlight in Sun Tunnels (Detail), 1976

In the articles, Holt brought up that she would like for her works to outlive her. Longevity and endurance of the Sun Tunnels was compared to that of ancient works, like mounds and caves, and determined that it makes sense for the Sun Tunnels to last for a very long time because of these ancient ideas it echoes. Many of these ancient works were sacred, or at least thought of as so. This brought up the idea that earthworks could perhaps make things sacred, and in regards to this, the words “spiritual” and “worship” were brought up a few times. Talking about Holt once again, we discussed what future generations may think of her works and the impulses to align things with the stars.

Nancy Holt, Drawing for Positioning of Holes in the Perseus Constellation, 1975

In relation to perception, we dissected the meaning between scale and size. We concluded that size is a more formal element, and scale has more to do with the viewers own perspective.

As artists and viewers, we are trained to think that art should last forever, but more so in the context of museum art. We discussed the difference in values of museum works and earthworks, and how earthworks would not be what they are if in a museum. It was concluded that both, although seemingly opposite of one another, could be thought of as elitist. 

Road in between Golden Spike and Spiral Jetty, August 2005

Going off the topic of museums and the access they provide, we discussed road maintenance and access to these works, and how that impacts them. This was primarily discussed in relation to Spiral Jetty, the Golden Spike, and the road in between the two. In this conversation, it was concluded that earthworks offer much different experiences than museums can. 

Demi Fenicle, Megan Sutton, Lilly McClung, Katherine Thomas

Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Marfa & Chinati

During our class discussion we started out talking about museums and how they display art. We talked about how museums often get annoyed with contemporary artists that bring their large sculpture into the museums because they are hard to deal with and make space for. Private or public funding can be factors into artists providing a space for their work, and whether the art itself is private or public.

A gallery of emptiness at the Museum of Contemporary Cuts

The conversation shifted into how we lose and gain different qualities with white museum gallery space, how interpretations change in different spaces. For some in the class, backgrounds were just noise to be ignored in lieu of the artwork, while for others it changed the entire atmosphere. Contemporary and modern works often get stuck in what the class identified as ‘white cubes’. However, there are other ways to create gallery spaces other than white walled spaces. Museums and galleries are starting to shift away from blank, neutral spaces and artists are trying to find ways to make the galleries more inviting rather than intimidating, but it can also be a distraction to the work itself.

Donald Judd, 100 untitled works in mill aluminum, 1982-1986, image from Chinati Foundation

We then continued to discuss how Donald Judd made his own gallery space to accommodate his work in ways that traditional museums and galleries could not. We talked about how Judd’s work is so site-specific. Because of the past use of the buildings, it’s comparable to what it was used for in the past (grocery store). These buildings don’t change, but the space does. Past uses may or may not change views on how you interpret the work.

The Dan Flavin Art Institute, Bridgehampton, New York, part of the Dia Foundation

We then transitioned into tackling about funding the art and whether or not having a patron is good or bad. We talked about how patrons ultimately have control, and you just have to find the right people to fund it so that the decisions align with yours. Ideally, you could get a grant so that you have no restrictions with your artwork. Because they are giving you the opportunity you couldn’t do on your own, you should respect their input. Without the Dia Foundation, Judd’s vision would probably never have happened. In the end, they just ran out of money.

Donald Judd, 15 untitled works in concrete, 1980-1984, image from Chinati Foundation

We then proceeded to talk about Judd’s work as an artist and how Judd was able to contextualize his work however he wanted to with the way he finished these buildings for his works.  We then started talking about minimalism and how it is seen in different ways, such as art that consumes your space and also art that has a lack of embellishment. The artists thought the term itself was derogatory. Judd uses repetition and that quality is usually not associated with minimalistic art pieces. Personal responses include ignoring minimalist artworks, or indulging into the detail given in and around the sculpture. He isn’t making personal art, but at the same time they are more than they appear with the fact that he chose to create his work in a certain space.



We then started to focus on minimalism in general and less about the function of Donald Judd as a minimalist. We discussed how the function of minimalist work gives you a new appreciation of form and color, more so than other works of art. It lets you see work for what it is as an object. Minimalism is a lie in that it keeps information from us, causing us to wonder what else could be added to it. The primary critique of Minimalism is that it’s not art because the artistic thing about it is external to the object. It evolves with the atmosphere and its environment. The objects are meaningless besides how you interact with them.

The Arena at the Chinati Foundation

Then we started to talk about how Judd created an audience of fans by being so hard to get to, people pilgrimage over to this place to experience his work. It was designed specifically for the art and cares less about the audience. Being in the West, he doesn’t have to worry about being squished and having “neighbors”.

Destination: Marfa, TX, photo by Lara Kuykendall, 2015

We then got to talking about the debate between whether a work is art or not. We discussed if the artist has an argument for why it’s art, then it should be considered art. When we see art we have a preconceived notion of what art is and should be, when we see pieces that don’t have much physical labor it isn’t considered art. But a lot of minimalist art is mental labor with ideas. Art is internal. It makes us conscious of mark making, concept, and idea. The viewer has the ability to make something art through interpretation.

Uncrowded Marfa, TX, photo by Lara Kuykendall, 2015

Finally, we started to talk about how the impermanence of works changes your views with temporary artworks which  can be distracting because of the crowds, whereas permanence means it’ll be less crowded. Crowds can affect the way we perceive artwork because you can’t take time with it to appreciate it. Some works are fun to see how other people interact with works, like sculptural artworks outside. It becomes more memorable when the experience is with others and can bring out the best in people. Some artists think about how crowds affect their work and sometimes control the amount of people around the work at once. Some pieces demand to be part of the architecture whereas others get away with being placed anywhere.

Alex Mikev, Aly Didier, Joan Seig, Molly Carpenter

Dia Acquires Nancy Holt's "Sun Tunnels"

Nancy Holt's Sun Tunnels, 1973-1976

Last week Dia announced that Sun Tunnels is now part of its permanent collection (too bad this didn't occur when she was alive). According to the Holt-Smithson Foundation, this fall Dia: Chelsea will show two of her pieces including the first installation of Mirrors of Light since it was originally created.

Sublime, Banal, Commercial and Artistic: Photography in the West

Ansel Adams, Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite Valley, 1942 

This week’s discussion revolved around the readings “Yosemite and Ansel Adams: Art, Commerce, and Western Tourism” by Jonathan Spaulding, “The Sublime and the Banal in Postwar Photography of the American West” by Cécile Whiting, and “In the Twentieth Century West” by Robert Adams. 

When you hear the words landscape photography the name Ansel Adams probably comes to mind. When you hear the words Ansel Adams the words Yosemite National Park may also come to mind. Ansel Adams had a deep connection to the National Park from a young age. After fighting an illness his aunt wanted to lift his spirits by giving him a book by James M. Hutching titled, In the Heart of the Sierras. The book inspired young Ansel Adams to urge his family to take their summer vacation to Yosemite National Park. That summer would have an enormous impact on Adams that would carry over into the rest of his life and career. Adams began working at the National Park and began his photography career. Donald Tressider hired Adams in hopes he would be able to capture the beauty of Yosemite to spark tourism. As time progressed Tressider became less worried about the beautiful landscape and focused more on making money off tourists. 

Ansel Adams photographing Yosemite National Park

After Ansel Adams did some side photography commissions he returned to Yosemite. He discovered that Tressider and the Curry Company were using his photographs without his permission, and also that Life magazine did this as well, without giving him part of their earnings. Ansel Adams was conflicted after this incident, he wanted to start publishing his own works but the Curry Company was his only form of constant income. After this incident though, he had the ability to take photographs for a few other employers like the Kodak company. Adams wanted his photographs of Yosemite and nature to convey a sense of beauty, but also found himself on the opposite end of the commercialism spectrum with his photographs being used in advertisements. He viewed it as another form of his love for the natural world. However, he always felt the pressure of needing to choose sides between the environmental movement and the tourism business. When he finally became a big name in the art and photography business, he realized that books were a highly effective form of communicating preservationism with tourists in the national parks. This led to high reviews and impressive sales for Adams. Although, this at the same time contradicted with his preservationist values. 

William Garnett, Housing Developments/Aerial Photos, 1940s/50s

Alongside Ansel Adams, William Garnett, Ed Ruscha, and Robert Adams were important western landscape photographers from the 1960s. Each photographer had his own aesthetic, either capturing only the beauty of the western scenery, focusing on the harmful impact westward expansion and tourism have on the land, or contrasting the two aesthetics in one image. The concept of banal or sublime photography becomes important to these photographers in their work, meaning the images seem to fit somewhere on a spectrum of being boring or magnificent. 

Robert Adams, Pioneer Cemetery, Near Empire, c. 1974
 
Discussing Robert Adams in particular, the encompassment of sublime and banal settings as his primary subject material truly highlighted the feelings of both himself and other photographers with similar viewpoints at the time. Adams always desired to capture natural spaces in their raw form, untouched and magnificent. As time went on, these images became exceedingly more difficult to attain as human interaction was inevitable in a growing capitalistic society. Adams instilled that not only were developers and the tourism industry making these untouched lands ugly, but they were also destroying places where individuals grew to become themselves...places that shared the spirit of those that had once inhabited it. This corruption not only affected the land, but those that grew to love it. In many instances, person and place can be bound together through memory, experience, and association. By ruining one, another is affected. Everyone depends on space, even without realizing it. Space creates an element of civility, and highlights the true beauty in simplicity of the world itself. Adams desired to create a place that could remain untouched, even as it was surrounded by development..a place that maintained the original tranquility of the land and harmony of nature. This is something that he wanted to share with audiences. His work primarily focused on opening a dialogue with viewers about preservation of these areas, urging individuals to become better than they once were and to gradually improve. By reshaping oneself, he stated that our individual transformation can reflect a greater catalyst for change in natural spaces.

Ed Ruscha's Twenty-six Gasoline Stations, 1962

In the discussion, we talked about the concept of working on projects we may not agree with in order to pay the bills and whether that is considered selling out in the art world or not. We also discussed the process of photo manipulation and how that is considered an artistic advantage to show the viewer what the artist wants them to see which lead into the question of at what point does photo manipulation become misleading to the viewer. Can anything be completely natural when there is a lot of darkroom manipulation in photography studios? Looking at Ed Ruscha’s Twentysix Gasoline Stations, we discussed how the blank pages seemed to be sporadic and accidental at first, but with further discussion, we theorized that this may not have been unintentional but possibly alluding to the vast nothingness seen on any long-distance drive and the implied movement between gas stations. The growing blank pages at the end gives a sense of fear that gas will run out at any minute and another gas station may not be in sight before that time comes with this interpretation. 

 Alix Peters, Megan Hall, Carrie Pawlovich, and Celina Timmerman