At the remote Rozel Point on the Great Salt Lake sits the land art sculpture Spiral Jetty. In 1970, the artist Robert Smithson chose the spot for his 6,000 ton, 1,500 feet long spiral. But experiencing the work isn’t just about viewing it, it’s also about the pilgrimage over miles of rough roads northeast of the lake. We’re premiering a new short film on VideoWest with the Spiral Jetty at its center, so Tuesday on the program we’re talking about it – where the Spiral Jetty fits in the land art movement and what Smithson hoped people would experience on the shores of the Great Salt Lake.
Watch the Vita Brevis Films/VideoWest short film JETTY, featuring actor Julian Sands.
Guests:
- Ann Reynolds, Associate Professor of Art History, University of Texas at Austin. She's the author of Robert Smithson: Learning from New Jersey and Elsewhere [Indiebound|Amazon] and contributor to Robert Smithson: Spiral Jetty [Indiebound|Amazon]
- Kelly Kivland is Assistant Curator at the Dia Art Foundation, which owns and manages Spiral Jetty. She also serves as liaison with the Foundation's Utah partners.
- Skylar Nielsen of Vita Brevis films. Read his blog post about filming with Julian Sands at Spiral Jetty.
Resources:
The Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) works in collaboration with the Dia Art Foundation, the steward of the Spiral Jetty, and the Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster College to preserve and maintain Spiral Jetty.
- Get information on Spiral Jetty, including a self-guided tour and directions, from the UMFA website
- The UMFA also has family backpacks that can be checked out to help guide your Spiral Jetty visit.
