‘Spiral Jetty’ Added to National Register of Historic Places

In 1970, on the briny banks of Utah’s Great Salt Lake, Robert Smithson installed one of the most interesting and important works of American Land Art. Now, 54 years later, Spiral Jetty has officially been added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty is believed to be the first piece of Land Art to join the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, which includes nearly 100,000 sites across the country that are at least 50 years old. “We are delighted that Spiral Jetty has received this important recognition, which will help us spread awareness of the iconic artwork and advocate for its long-term preservation,” said Jessica Morgan, director of the Dia Art Foundation, in a statement. “Beloved in Utah and far beyond, this artwork has come to mean many things to many people, and we are proud to continue our work caring and advocating for Spiral Jetty to preserve it for generations to come.”

The Origin Story of Spiral Jetty

Robert Smithson (1938-1973) was a pioneering American artist best remembered for contributing to the Land Art movement. Land Art, also known as earth art, emerged in the 1960s. It was a conceptual art movement that explored alternative and anti-commercial modes of artistic production, including the use of environmental sites and natural materials. Smithson installed Spiral Jetty—arguably the most famous land artwork of all time—just three years before he died at age 35 in an aviation accident.

Smithson sculpted basalt rock, salt crystals, earth, and water into 15-foot-wide curves—creating a gargantuan counterclockwise coil that juts 1,500 feet from the shoreline. He used crystallized salt to bind the natural materials together, making Spiral Jetty semi-permanent. Smithson was drawn to the sometimes strikingly red hue of the Great Salt Lake—a natural result of salt-tolerant algae and bacteria in the water—because it reminded him of the primordial sea that once covered the area. He was also interested in the concept of entropy, specifically in the relationship between natural elements and manufactured spaces, as well as the eventual decay of land artworks like Spiral Jetty. Since its installation, Spiral Jetty‘s stewards have honored Smithson’s original vision by providing minimal upkeep and supervision.

The Dia Foundation acquired Spiral Jetty in 1999. By then, the iconic land artwork had long been submerged beneath the surface of the Great Salt Lake. That, paired with its remote location, made it a fascinating exercise in entropy and an important icon of Land Art. However, it also contributed to Spiral Jetty‘s relative obscurity at the time.

Starting in the early 2000s, sustained draught in Utah caused water levels to recede, making Spiral Jetty consistently visible—and frequently visited—for the first time in its history. According to Dia curator and co-department head Jordan Carter, Spiral Jetty‘s addition to the register “does not include any physical signing or plaques, so the site will remain as is.” Carter told Artnet, “We hope the enhanced recognition will dissuade other interventions in the landscape that negatively impact the environment and the lake’s ecology.”