A contemporary artist Robert Smithson - Essay Example

Robert Smithson (1938-19730, is a contemporary American artist who became so much popular in establishing new approaches and concepts in the world ofart. He became famous with his land arts or earth works, wherein he considers the making of location or places as his object of artistic creations in monumental scale. The nature of his works attempts to frequently show the relationship of landscape and the art. All through his life, Smithson enganged himself in his artistic creations, more particularly out-of doors projects (e.g. Spiral Jetty). His works involved making observations and creating maps for different geographical and geological locations. He plunged into various realms of architecture, making plans or different regions, and explored industrial development wherein he devout himself in different sampling, such that resembles an earth scientist. By observing much of his works, further discussing his idea is essential to describe him as an environmental artist (earth artist) and an innovator in his field. This is because he is finding another ways of making himself enganged in capturing the beauty of this world. In this context, he was able to connect his perspective to the places he is turning to be his works of art establishing the relationship between environment and art. He developed and raised the idea about site and non-site art, not a jargon, but a term he employ himself. Non-site art is the location where art in different forms is being displayed or kept, like galleries and museums where evidences of the works (photos, film etc.) are collected. On the other hand, the “site” is the place itself, where the artistic freedom is formed, which is to be particular, pertains to the earthworks that he frequently made (Busch 1974). In this perspective he developed concepts that has become so essential in describing his distinct views about how art can be applied not as how it has been traditionally described and exercised. As Smithson cleave to his innovative idea, he engaged himself in developing land into his own earthwork. Under the perspective of the site art, he produces monumental landscapes that constitute his own description of the site. Rocks, trees, earth and things that are available in nature or in a particular site became the materials that make his ideas bring to life and the location itself will sooner be the product of his creation. In his works, the meduim and materials was the reality that can be seen in nature. As Smithson (1968) once said, “Instead of putting a work of art on some land, some land is put into the work of art.” As a minimalist artist, Smithson energize his idea of the site by possessing the desire to drive the viewer experience his earth work, and later to the appreciation of the relationship of every elements or mediums of his work. These elements that are carefully and artistically arranged does not necessarily possess the expression or a meaning being intended by the creator of the work. The conceptual decisions of the art is dependent on how the spectator sees it, thus giving higher importance to the viewers very own reaction to the object. Meaning to say, their work does not necessarily done to inject any political or religious apprehension, but purely aesthetic, and interpretation is not dependent on Smithson as an artist, but to the site’s appeal and psychological influence to the persons that sees it. In the Minimalist context, we will be able to understand the mere intention of Smithson’s work, such that will be contributory to the appreciation and acceptance of his achievents. The concept of minimal art could be contrasted to the traditional expressionism approaches, wherein things that are put in the art attempts to symbolize something. In the perspective of minimalism, the simple form that can be seen in those work would mean another thing to the viewer. Such appeal are not spoon fed by the creator of the work, but the very appeal that the viewer itself finds. Minimalist artworks are created by creator in any perspective except for the sake of beauty or aesthetics. Unlike the expressionist perspective in arts, that attempts to richly produce a magnificent artworks with variations in colors, forms and symbolism, artists in minimalism like Smithson, “reduced their work to the smallest number of colors, values, shapes, lines and textures (Art History: Minimalism:(1960-1975), N. d.). Minimalism (Burlyuk 1929) is their reaction to too much expressionism and pretentiousness of the abstract expressionism. The real intention is to make art or the work the simplest but appealing as it could be. Then let the one who sees it digest what impression he could get from those work.These views and ideals can be accounted responsible in the molding of a skillfull artist like Smithson who made the land and elements in nature as a mediums to his art. These contemporary idea is not isolated to the ideas of Smithson alone. In the same manner many contemporary artist, like Walter Maria possessess the same kind of belief with regards on their genuine approach to art. Actually, of the minimal artist, supports the concept of appreciation of the simple forms of mediums. Minimal to its form, Maria’s work, also mean to create situation wherein people or those who can see their work will have an artistic experience in nature. It is the same concept that Smithson inject to the spectator of his work as they relate to the impression that their work could give to the viewer. The appreciation of their work is depending mainly on how a person would extend his ideas about his relationship to medium or to the elements of the work, and such stimuli are essential in acceptance and appreciation of minimal art. Smithson before he died (July 20, 1973) has created monumental land arts, and one of the most popular is the Spiral Jetty in Salt Lake Utah (1970), which is a 1500-feet long spiral-shaped jetty. It was constructed from earth, salt, red algae and rocks. This earthwork that he made gives a clear visualization of what he calls as the site work, wherein a person could have another experience of nature. We could say that this is one of his greatest achievement, wherein he could clearly show to all the people how effectively his work could really be a source of appreciation. The Spiral Jetty is the product of what he calls an operation of nature, wherein, the manipulations to nature create another visual, emotional and aesthetic appeal to those who will see or go to that place. The stimuli comes from the experience of the site itself, and that extra-ordinary feelings comes from the idea that there is a symbiotic relationship that exists between that monumental landscape and the human being that appreciates it. A traveler describes how the Spiral Jetty has become so much aesthetically appealing to him. He says, that Smithson has successfully understood how the piece of land could not only be a subject of an art, but the land as a masterpiece, a mere canvas of his own art (Green 2004). This description therefore gives credit to the ability of Spiral Jetty to attract the attention of those who can experience it, the thing that minimal artist really wants to convey. The over-all impression of the art created an impact and an extra-ordinary impression to the person that will find the way on how this kind of minimal art or earth work could be appreciated. The aesthetic perspective side of this work, the Spiral Jetty points out, that through nature itself can art be made. The impact of nature to man plus the ability of the work to generate a peculiar mental concept to man is the essence that can be found in this work. In further analysis of this work, we could say that the real intention of Smithson in doing this work is to make another way by which people will view art as art. The non-site and site idea that he proposes gives a clear meaning that art is not confined on paintings and canvas alone, but on the larger scale could also be the mere places that for most of the time become subjects of many classical painters. His work carries the artistic principles of Smithson and his cultural theories. He let the travellers on his work to supply what he intended for them to resolve. The effect of Spiral Jetty to “site” seers could be explained as an element that evoke their philosophical and ethical thinking (Holt 1979, 154). Probably, the same appreciation that those who make pilgrimage to his work feels is the same unique feeling that he felt from the first time he was able to see his work. It brings the genuine artistic idea of man’s attachment and relationship to nature, and the appreciation of nature, its forms, its simple compositions exemplifies another deeply rooted understanding of man’s connection to the universe. It should not be oversimplified for just being an earth work (Pagel N.d.), but the things that could be appreciated in understanding itself that nature can communicate to man intrinsically as he sees that nature could be an effective channel of psychic, physical and emotional enjoyment. The Spiral Jetty according to some spectators is an entropy that reveals not only Smithson concept but a universal law, something that influences the over all experience to the “site” seers. It creates an aura that somehow describes the relationship of man to nature and nature to the universe. It is not just a work of minimal art, but describe to be a wonderful creation that represents deeper philosophical value, and an appreciation which is a product of entropy (Holt 1979, 113). In other way that his work could be analyzed, is to say that the whole product of his work does not necessarily employ any formal political or social investigation, however deeper than that, a primary tactic of ornament that holds the energy of understanding life as a part of the conceptualization process. The real side of it is its whole composition that possess that strong philosophical and ethical appeal, such that makes it the icon of land art (Werkner 1992, 86). It’s simplicity, having only the immediate materials of nature (earth, rock, algae etc.), and its structure, which is an immobile cyclone, is an ornament that has been regarded as “"the quintessential heroic gesture in the landscape" (Hobbs 1981, 192). Impliedly, it has successfuly achieved its glory as one of the most admired land art in the world. Now, this work has been so much valuable, because it carries the real perspective that minimal art possess. That creates another dimension of understanding both art, and the qualities that hides within its forms and its mediums. It’s aesthetic qualities could not necessarily be observed in it superficial dimension, but to the entropy, the essence of environment plus the altered states of conciousness as man experiences the appreciation of this wonderful art(Tsai 1988, 73). The only problem that a person might have to the difficulty of understanding this work is when he will be too short of oversimplifying the mere intention of the artist to reveal the resplendent quality of his work. Failure to achieve such understanding will be the cause for the criticism of the minimal art. However, this thing could be solve once a person will actually have the experience on travelling to this particular site and see the real dimensions that this immobile cyclone represent to the world of art and to man. References: Busch, Julia M., A Decade of Sculpture: the New Media in the 1960s (The Art Alliance Press: Philadelphia; Associated University Presses: London, 1974) Flan, Jack. Robert Smithson: The Collected Writings. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1996. Holt, Nancy ed. The Writings of Robert Smithson. New York: New York University Press, 1979. Werkner, Patrick. Land Art USA: Von den Upsprungen zit den Grossraumprojeckten in der Wuste. Munchen: Prestel Verlag, 1992.  Hobbs, Robert. Robert Smithson: Sculpture. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1981.  Tsai, Eugenie. Robert Smithson: Unearthed - Drawings, Collages, Writings. New York: Columbia University Press, 1991.   Girling, Oliver. Outside the inside. August 31, 1995, http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_08.31.95/ARTS/ar0831.php (accessed March 11, 2007). Green, Tyler (2004). MODERN ART NOTES Tyler Greens modern and contemporary art blog: The Jetty, http://www.artsjournal.com/man/archives20050601.shtml#101161(accessed March 11, 2007). Pagel, Angelika (N.d.). The Immobile Cyclone: Robert Smithsons Spiral Jetty, http://www.nps.gov/archive/gosp/tour/pagel.html (accessed March 11, 2007). Art History: Minimalism: (1960 - 1975)N.d. Worldwide Art Resources, http://wwar.com/masters/movements/minimalism.html (accessed March 11, 2007). Pictures: This pictures could be find at http://www.robertsmithson.com/earthworks/spiral_jetty.htm Read More