Object Details
- Collection Creator
- Smithson, Robert
- See more items in
- Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers
- Sponsor
- Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
- Extent
- 11 Folders (Box 2)
- Date
- 1966-1973
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Art
- Identifier
- AAA.smitrobe, Series 3
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection Citation
- Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers, 1905-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
- Arrangement note
- This series is arranged in chronological order by year of the interview.
- Collection Rights
- The Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, holds the intellectual property rights, including copyright, to all materials created by Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt with the exception of the following items: two holiday cards found in box 11, folders 22-23. For these two items, copyright held by Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Requests for permission to reproduce should be submitted to ARS.
- The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
- Existence and Location of Copies
- Series has been digitized in entirety.
- Scope and Contents note
- This series includes nine interview transcripts with Robert Smithson. Topics include his general philosophy on art; contemporary art in relation to its historical context; non-sites, earthworks, entropy, space, and structures; the relationship between artists and dealers, museums, and collectors; and his most influential works, including Spiral Jetty, Broken Circle, and Spiral Hill. The Alan Kaprow and Rodger Katan transcript (1966) focuses on the relationship between museums and contemporary art. The transcript with Dennis Wheeler (1969-1970) consists of 4 taped, informal sessions discussing Smithson's general philosophy on art, non-sites, and specific projects. In the Paul Toner transcript (1970), Smithson discusses earthworks, mirror displacements, non-sites, and art's historical context. The Gregorie Muller transcript [1971] focuses on the background and construction of Broken Circle and Spiral Hill. The Art Institute of Chicago transcript (1971) records Smithson's question and answer session with the audience after a showing of his films Swamp and Spiral Jetty. In the Bruce Kurtz transcript (1972), Smithson informally discusses artists' relationships with dealers, museums, and collectors; gallery art's general separation from nature; capitalism's influence and intersection with art; and his 1966 airport projects. The Stella Russell (1973) transcript focuses on Spiral Jetty, Broken Circle, and Spiral Hill. In the Alison Sky transcript (1973), Smithson discusses his thoughts on entropy, the act of building, and its intersection with the architectural and engineering mechanics of structure. In Smithson's transcript with two unidentified students (1973), he discusses modernism and the branching off of developing contemporary art; public sculpture; historical context, theory, linguistics, and humanism; and thoughts on his own writings. The transcript with Moira Roth (1973) focuses on Duchamp and conceptual art. There is also a full transcript of the Andrew Dickson White Museum's Earth Art Symposium (1969) with the following participating artists: Mike Hiezer, Dennis Oppenheim, Robert Smithson, Neil Jenney, Gunther Uecker, Jan Dibbets, Richard Long, and Hans Haacke.
- Collection Restrictions
- This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
- Record ID
- ebl-1562713245132-1562713245158-5
