Comments on: Extending the Conservation Framework: A Site-Specific Conservation Discussion with Francesca Esmay http://blog.art21.org/2009/07/21/extending-the-conservation-framework-a-site-specific-conservation-discussion-with-francesca-esmay/ The Official Blog of Art21, Inc. and the Art in the Twenty-First Century PBS series Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:58:24 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Isabelle Vodjdani (isavodj) 's status on Wednesday, 18-Nov-09 17:37:26 UTC - Identi.ca http://blog.art21.org/2009/07/21/extending-the-conservation-framework-a-site-specific-conservation-discussion-with-francesca-esmay/comment-page-1/#comment-15171 Isabelle Vodjdani (isavodj) 's status on Wednesday, 18-Nov-09 17:37:26 UTC - Identi.ca Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:37:40 +0000 http://blog.art21.org/?p=7615#comment-15171 [...] http://blog.art21.org/2009/07/21/extending-the-conservation-framework-a-site-specific-conservation-... a few seconds ago from web [...] [...] http://blog.art21.org/2009/07/21/extending-the-conservation-framework-a-site-specific-conservation-... a few seconds ago from web [...]

]]> By: Richard McCoy http://blog.art21.org/2009/07/21/extending-the-conservation-framework-a-site-specific-conservation-discussion-with-francesca-esmay/comment-page-1/#comment-12487 Richard McCoy Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:36:46 +0000 http://blog.art21.org/?p=7615#comment-12487 Thanks for all of your comments! Of course, this blog post wasn’t designed to be the definitive statement on the preservation of Spiral Jetty. Taken as a whole, it’s a big, complex set of issues. I made this as an effort to start a conversation around this work under the context of caring for “non-traditional outdoor sculptures.” To that end, I think we demonstrate some of the definite rolls, approaches, and thought processes an art conservator can take when working with them. One of the complexities of public artworks (traditional or otherwise) is that the number of stakeholders can be much greater than simply the artist and the “owner(s)” that is charged with caring for it. While it can be a great advantage to have a number of interested parties gathered around the preservation of an artwork, in my mind having a unified preservation approach is what’s more important. I think Francesca’s approach to start first by gathering a clear understanding of the current state of the immediate area surrounding the Spiral Jetty is a careful and prudent approach. No doubt she and others at Dia are doing a lot more than what we’ve discussed and there will be a lot more to say on this in the future and perhaps some of what’s been discussed here will be taken into account. I’m already looking forward to seeing what Tyler produces the rest of this week, but I’m confidant that he won’t turn up any pictures better than what Francesca, and the folks from the GCI produced! Thanks for all of your comments!

Of course, this blog post wasn’t designed to be the definitive statement on the preservation of Spiral Jetty. Taken as a whole, it’s a big, complex set of issues. I made this as an effort to start a conversation around this work under the context of caring for “non-traditional outdoor sculptures.” To that end, I think we demonstrate some of the definite rolls, approaches, and thought processes an art conservator can take when working with them.

One of the complexities of public artworks (traditional or otherwise) is that the number of stakeholders can be much greater than simply the artist and the “owner(s)” that is charged with caring for it.

While it can be a great advantage to have a number of interested parties gathered around the preservation of an artwork, in my mind having a unified preservation approach is what’s more important. I think Francesca’s approach to start first by gathering a clear understanding of the current state of the immediate area surrounding the Spiral Jetty is a careful and prudent approach. No doubt she and others at Dia are doing a lot more than what we’ve discussed and there will be a lot more to say on this in the future and perhaps some of what’s been discussed here will be taken into account.

I’m already looking forward to seeing what Tyler produces the rest of this week, but I’m confidant that he won’t turn up any pictures better than what Francesca, and the folks from the GCI produced!

]]> By: The Digest. 07.22.09. at C-MONSTER.net http://blog.art21.org/2009/07/21/extending-the-conservation-framework-a-site-specific-conservation-discussion-with-francesca-esmay/comment-page-1/#comment-12485 The Digest. 07.22.09. at C-MONSTER.net Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:14:13 +0000 http://blog.art21.org/?p=7615#comment-12485 [...] fertilizer evaporation pools could make Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty unrecognizable. Plus: conservation talk on land art (including Spiral Jetty) at [...] [...] fertilizer evaporation pools could make Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty unrecognizable. Plus: conservation talk on land art (including Spiral Jetty) at [...]

]]> By: Laura Brasnan http://blog.art21.org/2009/07/21/extending-the-conservation-framework-a-site-specific-conservation-discussion-with-francesca-esmay/comment-page-1/#comment-12473 Laura Brasnan Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:56:54 +0000 http://blog.art21.org/?p=7615#comment-12473 Wow! The changes are miraculous. I love the Spiral Jetty. I am an art student. You deserve for appreciation. Wow! The changes are miraculous. I love the Spiral Jetty. I am an art student. You deserve for appreciation.

]]> By: Lauren http://blog.art21.org/2009/07/21/extending-the-conservation-framework-a-site-specific-conservation-discussion-with-francesca-esmay/comment-page-1/#comment-12470 Lauren Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:48:54 +0000 http://blog.art21.org/?p=7615#comment-12470 Michael - I have learned about Spiral Jetty in many of my art history classes, but no teachers ever mentioned the abandoned WWII watercraft, trailers, and trucks that you discuss above. I also agree with you that the rawness and not the pristine nature of the work is more appreciated in my opinion. It will be interesting to see what others think when the park opens. Michael – I have learned about Spiral Jetty in many of my art history classes, but no teachers ever mentioned the abandoned WWII watercraft, trailers, and trucks that you discuss above. I also agree with you that the rawness and not the pristine nature of the work is more appreciated in my opinion. It will be interesting to see what others think when the park opens.

]]> By: Michael Buitron http://blog.art21.org/2009/07/21/extending-the-conservation-framework-a-site-specific-conservation-discussion-with-francesca-esmay/comment-page-1/#comment-12468 Michael Buitron Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:50:13 +0000 http://blog.art21.org/?p=7615#comment-12468 Thanks Joanna, I agree with your point. Too bad the opportunity to ask Esmay about how Dia's (and GRI's) concept of preservation meshes with Smithson's concept of entropy. http://www.robertsmithson.com/essays/entropy.htm Back when I visited the site years ago, one could still see the abandoned WWII watercraft, trailers and trucks that Smithson mentions when he chose Rozel Point as the site for the jetty. Oil seeps and the nearby decaying industrial jetty are what gave context to Smithson's work. It's a shame when Dia moves in to pristine-ify a site that was chosen because it made evident the impact of industrialized land use. It is the congruence of the causeway, oil exploration and the natural environment that gives the jetty its impact, not Dia's attempts to keep the work in a state of suspended animation. http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FcjSjS97uNvTExL39TTlUw Thanks Joanna, I agree with your point. Too bad the opportunity to ask Esmay about how Dia’s (and GRI’s) concept of preservation meshes with Smithson’s concept of entropy.
http://www.robertsmithson.com/essays/entropy.htm
Back when I visited the site years ago, one could still see the abandoned WWII watercraft, trailers and trucks that Smithson mentions when he chose Rozel Point as the site for the jetty. Oil seeps and the nearby decaying industrial jetty are what gave context to Smithson’s work. It’s a shame when Dia moves in to pristine-ify a site that was chosen because it made evident the impact of industrialized land use. It is the congruence of the causeway, oil exploration and the natural environment that gives the jetty its impact, not Dia’s attempts to keep the work in a state of suspended animation.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FcjSjS97uNvTExL39TTlUw

]]> By: Tyler Green http://blog.art21.org/2009/07/21/extending-the-conservation-framework-a-site-specific-conservation-discussion-with-francesca-esmay/comment-page-1/#comment-12467 Tyler Green Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:28:15 +0000 http://blog.art21.org/?p=7615#comment-12467 I should have said under-nuanced, not simplistic. :-P I should have said under-nuanced, not simplistic. :-P

]]> By: Tyler Green http://blog.art21.org/2009/07/21/extending-the-conservation-framework-a-site-specific-conservation-discussion-with-francesca-esmay/comment-page-1/#comment-12465 Tyler Green Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:21:57 +0000 http://blog.art21.org/?p=7615#comment-12465 I think that's a slightly simplistic take on Smithson's semi-intent ('semi' because Smithson said multiple things and even contradicted himself here and there). Smithson wrote this in 1972, as part of a proposal to a mining company for a project in Ohio: "Our new ecological awareness indicates that industrial production can no longer remain blind to the visual landscape. Earth art could become a visual resource that mediates between ecology and industry.... I am developing an art consciousness for today free from nostalgia and rooted in the process of actual production and reclamation... A dialogue between earth art and mining operations could lead to a whole new consciousness." That doesn't mean leave-it-alone, it means keep it alive so that it may perpetuate art-in-the-real-world interactions. I think that’s a slightly simplistic take on Smithson’s semi-intent (’semi’ because Smithson said multiple things and even contradicted himself here and there).

Smithson wrote this in 1972, as part of a proposal to a mining company for a project in Ohio:

“Our new ecological awareness indicates that industrial production can no longer remain blind to the visual landscape. Earth art could become a visual resource that mediates between ecology and industry…. I am developing an art consciousness for today free from nostalgia and rooted in the process of actual production and reclamation… A dialogue between earth art and mining operations could lead to a whole new consciousness.”

That doesn’t mean leave-it-alone, it means keep it alive so that it may perpetuate art-in-the-real-world interactions.

]]> By: Joanna Gawell http://blog.art21.org/2009/07/21/extending-the-conservation-framework-a-site-specific-conservation-discussion-with-francesca-esmay/comment-page-1/#comment-12460 Joanna Gawell Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:41:46 +0000 http://blog.art21.org/?p=7615#comment-12460 Spiral Jetty was the subject of my undergraduate thesis, and Smithson's essays constantly return to the ideas of entropy, human disruption, and natural disintegration. If he created works such as Spiral Jetty with the expectation that the earth would take over and change his art in natural and interesting ways and humans would intervene as part of the natural order, does conservation go against his artistic intent? Spiral Jetty was the subject of my undergraduate thesis, and Smithson’s essays constantly return to the ideas of entropy, human disruption, and natural disintegration. If he created works such as Spiral Jetty with the expectation that the earth would take over and change his art in natural and interesting ways and humans would intervene as part of the natural order, does conservation go against his artistic intent?

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