Spiral Jetty is a work by which artist?

Spiral Jetty is a work by which artist?

• A. Robert Smithson
• B. James Turrell
• C. Ansel Adams
• D. Christo

Answer: (A)

Spiral Jetty embodies land art by making the landscape itself the artwork. It was created by Robert Smithson in 1970 on the Great Salt Lake in Utah, where he laid a spiral of basalt rocks extending about 1,500 feet from the shore into the lake. The form interacts with changing water levels, mineral-rich waters, and weather, so the piece is not just a static object but a relationship with its environment. Smithson was interested in entropy and time, so the work emphasizes processes and change over time rather than permanence. This site-specific approach—using natural materials and responding to the landscape—defines a key movement in late 1960s–early 1970s art. For context, James Turrell explores perception through light, Ansel Adams is renowned for landscape photography, and Christo is known for wrapping large-scale structures or landscapes.

Spiral Jetty embodies land art by making the landscape itself the artwork. It was created by Robert Smithson in 1970 on the Great Salt Lake in Utah, where he laid a spiral of basalt rocks extending about 1,500 feet from the shore into the lake. The form interacts with changing water levels, mineral-rich waters, and weather, so the piece is not just a static object but a relationship with its environment. Smithson was interested in entropy and time, so the work emphasizes processes and change over time rather than permanence. This site-specific approach—using natural materials and responding to the landscape—defines a key movement in late 1960s–early 1970s art. For context, James Turrell explores perception through light, Ansel Adams is renowned for landscape photography, and Christo is known for wrapping large-scale structures or landscapes.