Smithson wanted to get his work outside of the gallery and museum walls and as far away from any “cultural confinement” that he felt could force artists into “fraudulent categories.” He didn’t, as a friend told me recently, “ask for anyone’s permission.” No, he did not, and this is the sort of bravado the art world needs more of today. The fact that the arts intelligentsia wants to bring a renewed interest to the Spiral Jetty for reasons outside of Smithson’s and for the moment, for reasons out of everyone’s control, may not be exactly the kind of unbiased attention he was hoping for. What it does do is bring back the discussion on the importance of art in our lives and the preservation of the precious natural resources we still have available to us, not to deplete them, but to learn, explore, and derive inspiration from them – and I don’t mean using them to fill up your car’s tank.
Here are two suggestions that will help insure that this process of art and life “becomes the edge of the sun, a boiling curve, an explosion rising into a fiery prominence” and that it continues in good faith and good will: One, go visit the Spiral Jetty. A detailed map of how to get there is available on the Dia website. And two, even though the comment period has officially ended, please continue to write or send an email to the Utah Governor’s office, voicing your opinion. The battle may have started, but the fight still needs to be fought. You can contact Jonathan Jemming, Director of the Resource Developement Coordinating Committee at 801.537.9023 or by email or visit the committee's web page.
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