ROBERT SMITHSON:

THE COLLECTED WRITINGS

EDITED BY JACK FLAM

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

Berkeley Los Angeles London
CONTENTS

PREFACE ix

INTRODUCTION: READING ROBERT SMITHSON xiii

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE xxvi

PUBLISHED WRITINGS

QUICK MILLIONS (1965) 3

DONALDJUDD (1965) 4

THE CRYSTAL LAND (1966) 7

ENTROPY A N D T H E NEW MONUMENTS (1966) 10

THE X FACTOR IN ART (1966) , 24

THE DOMAIN OF THE GREAT BEAR (1966) 26

QUASI-INFINITIES A N D THE W A N I N G OF SPACE (1966) 34

THE CRYOSPHERE (1966) 38

INTERPOLATION OF THE ENANTIOMORPHIC CHAMBERS (1966) 39

SOME V O I D T H O U G H T S O N MUSEUMS (1967) 41

WHAT IS A MUSEUM! A DIALOGUE BETWEEN 43

ALLAN K A P R O W A N D ROBERT SMITHSON (1967)

TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A N AIR TERMINAL SITE (1967) 52

LANGUAGE TO BE LOOKED AT A N D / O R THINGS TO BE READ (1967) 61

ULTRAMODERNE (1967) 62

LETTER TO THE EDITOR (1967) 66

A TOUR OFTHE MONUMENTS OF PASSAIC, NEW JERSEY (1967) 68

STRATA A GEOPHOTOGRAPHIC FICTION (1970) 75

A MUSEUM OF LANGUAGE IN THE VICINITY OF ART (1968) 78

A THING IS A HOLE IN A T H I N G IT IS N O T (1968) 95

THE ESTABLISHMENT (1968) 97

A SEDIMENTATION OF THE MIND: EARTH PROJECTS (1968) 100

MINUS TWELVE (1968) 114

AERIAL ART (1969) 116

INCIDENTS OF MIRROR-TRAVEL IN THE YUCATAN (1969) 119

THE ARTIST A N D POLITICS: A SYMPOSIUM (1970) 134

GYROSTASIS (1970) 136

A CINEMATIC ATOPIA (1971) 138

THE SPIRAL JETTY (1972) 143

CULTURAL CONFINEMENT (1972) 154

FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED A N D THE DIALECTICAL LANDSCAPE (1973) 157

INTERVIEWS

SMITHSON'S NON-SITE S I G H T S / A N T H O N Y ROBBIN (1969) 175

EARTH /THOMAS W. LEAVITT (1969) 177

FRAGMENTS OF A CONVERSATION/WILLIAM C.LIPKE (1969) 188

FRAGMENTS OF AN INTERVIEW W I T H PATSY NORVELL (1969) 192

FOUR CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN DENNIS WHEELER

A N D ROBERT SMITHSON / EDITED BY EVA SCHMIDT (1969-1970) 196

INTERVIEWWITH ROBERT SMITHSON / PAULTONER (1970) 234

DISCUSSIONS W I T H HEIZER, OPPENHEIM, SMITHSON /

LIZA BEAR A N D WILLOUGHBY SHARP (1970) 242
". . .THE EARTH, SUBJECT TO CATACLYSMS, IS A CRUEL MASTER" /
GREGOIRE MULLER (1971) 253

CONVERSATION WITH ROBERT SMITHSON / BRUCE KURTZ (1972) 262

INTERVIEWWITH ROBERT SMITHSON FORTHE ARCHIVES OF

AMERICAN ART / SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION / PAUL CUMMINGS (1972) 270

CONVERSATION IN SALT LAKE CITY / GIANNI PETTENA (1972) 297

ENTROPY MADE VISIBLE/ALISON SKY (1973) 301

ROBERT SMITHSON O N DUCHAMP / MOIRA ROTH (1973) 310

 UNPUBLISHED WRITINGS

POEMS (1959-1961)

FROM THE TEMPTATIONS 315

FROM THE WALLS OF DIS 316

FROM THE CITY 317

TO THE EYE OF BLOOD 318

THE LAMENTATIONS OF THE PAROXYSMAL ARTIST 3 19

PROSE

THE ICONOGRAPHY OF DESOLATION (c. 1962) 320

THE ELIMINATOR (1964) ' 3 2 7

THE HUM (c. 1965) 328

A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF T W O MIRRORED CRYSTAL STRUCTURES (1965) 328

RESPONSETO A QUESTIONNAIRE FROM IRVING SANDLER (1966) 329

COLOSSAL NULLIFICATIONS (PART I) (c. 1966) 331

ATLANTIC CITY (H-13) (1966) 332

THESHAPE OFTHE FUTUREAND MEMORY (1966) 332

PREDICTABLE MODEL FOR UNPREDICTABLE PROJECT (c. 1966) 333

PROPOSAL FOR THE DETECTION OF 334

APPROXIMATE PERIOD QUANTITY (c. 1966)

AN ESTHETICS OF DISAPPOINTMENT (c. 1966) 334

SOLLEWITT (1966-67) 335

A REFUTATION OF HISTORICAL HUMANISM (1966-67) 336

THE PATHETIC FALLACY IN ESTHETICS (1966-67) 337

ABSTRACT MANNERISM (1966-67) 339

THE ARTIST AS SITE-SEER; OR, A DINTORPHIC ESSAY (1966-67) 340

WHAT REALLY SPOILS MICHELANGELO'S SCULPTURE (1966-67) 346

FROM IVAN THE TERRIBLE TO ROGER CORMAN OR PARADOXES 349

OF CONDUCT IN MANNERISM AS REFLECTED IN THE CINEMA (1967)

vii
PROPOSAL FOR EARTHWORKS A N D LANDMARKS TO BE 354
BUILT O N THE FRINGES OF THE FORT WORTH-DALLAS
REGIONALAIRTERMINAL SITE (1966-67)

UNTITLED ( A I R T E R M I N A L — W I N D O W S ) (1967) 355

SEETHE MONUMENTS OF PASSAIC NEW JERSEY (1967) 356

THE MONUMENT: OUTLINE FORA FILM (1967) 357

POINTLESSVANISHING POINTS (1967) 358

A SMALL TEST FOR JO BAER (1968) 360

OUTLINE FOR YALE SYMPOSIUM: 360

AGAINST ABSOLUTE CATEGORIES (1968)

SITES A N D SETTINGS (1968) 362

UNTITLED (SITE DATA) (1968) 362

A PROVISIONAL THEORYOF NON-SITES (1968) 364

NON-SITE NUMBER 2 (1968) 365

HIDDEN TRAILS IN ART (1969) 366

C A N MAN SURVIVE? (1969) 367

LETTER TO GYORGY KEPES (1969) 369

LOOK (1970) 370

ART A N D DIALECTICS (1971) 370

ARTTHROUGHTHE CAMERA'S EYE (c. 1971) 371

UNTITLED (1971) 376

LETTER TO JOHN D I X O N (1972) 377

PRODUCTION FOR PRODUCTION'S SAKE (1972) 378

UNTITLED (1972) 379

PROPOSAL (1972) 379

GLOSSARY OF NAMES 381

BIBLIOGRAPHY 384

INDEX 387