Pop quiz: what is 1500 feet long, 15 feet wide, coiled into a counterclockwise spiral deep in Mormon territory, and made of mud, salt crystal, and rock? If you’ve ever taken ARTH101, you know the answer is Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty, a seminal piece from the Land Art movement constructed in 1970 in the Great Salt Lake in Utah. In the 39 years since its installation, Spiral Jetty has faced a number of threats to its existence, from natural erosion to proposed oil drilling by Amoco. Last week Modern Art Notes reported on a new industrial challenge to the site, as Great Salt Lake Minerals hopes to expand its operations by 91,000 acres, essentially evaporating the lake bed upon which the earthwork rests. Read More »