Study for Earthwork Proposal

Robert SmithsonWW-1969-089847

1969·Graphite, fiber-tipped pen and colored crayons on cream wove paper, laid down on wood pulp board·45.2 × 60.8 cm (17 13/16 × 23 15/16 in.)

<p>Interested in the outdoor, natural environment as an alternative site to the interior, decontextualizing space of museums, Smithson produced this earthwork study as a document of one moment in the continual process of environmental flux. The drawing depicts a partial view of one hundred glass squares embedded in a mound of earth. The placement of the glass on the ground surface outlines the general form of the mound though the parallel, horizontal arrangement of the squares contrasts with the mound's convex irregularity. The reflective yet transparent nature of the glass dissolves the boundary separating sky and land by integrating reflected light and color with earthen forms and substance.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1969
Medium: Graphite, fiber-tipped pen and colored crayons on cream wove paper, laid down on wood pulp board
Dimensions: 45.2 × 60.8 cm (17 13/16 × 23 15/16 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Robert Smithson

Artist

Robert Smithson

Sculpture

Seminal American artist Robert Smithson was born in 1938 in Passaic, New Jersey. Most widely known for his sculpture work, namely that which was associated with the Land Art movement, Smithson was also an influential writer. Smithson took several classes at the Art Students League of New York, as well as the Brooklyn Museum School, before serving in the US Army Reserves between 1956 and 1957 – after which he relocated permanently to New York. By the late 1950s, Smithson was fully immersed in his art practice, creating paintings, drawings and collages, ultimately culminating in his first solo show at the Artists Gallery in 1959.

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