Dear Sophie -
ROBERT SMITHSON rejected the notions of a static artwork in a gallery. Work that he created in the landscape couldn't be possessed. The work transformed while interacting with climate, tides and the variables of nature, taking on a life of its own. These were very powerful notions that were vibrant in the 1970's.
Although his career was cut unfortunately short, his concepts are powerful and sustaining. SPIRAL JETTY constructed at the Great Salt Lake in Utah is his most famous work only exposed on occasion pending the tides. This sculpture was constructed in 1970, just as I was entering art school when the conversation about context for art was as potent as the discussion about art itself.
With love,
Mom
