This is a post on my class, Art 109’s, blog (found here). I’ve made a few minor edits from the original.

Part 1: time period/original intent:

The sculpture was created between 1977 and 1978. The sculpture was gifted to Western Washington University from Nancy Holt to help educate students. The sculptures original intent is related to its celestial aliment to the North Star; however, the work also has an alignment that corresponds with directions, much like a compass. Each set of circular windows goes through the structure aligning with the geographical location of a directing, being N, E, S and W.  I feel Holt’s main intent with much of her work it to be able to create something that allow the view to engage with the work. Many other installation pieces, much like the stone enclosure, associate with celestial alignments; such as, the sun tunnel located In Utah.  The sculpture consists of two rock walls, one enclosed by the other, with sets of windows showing though each direction as well as arched doorways. The sculpture is comprised of radiating color so stone varies with different hues and shades between purple, orange and even tints of blue. The stone is schist stone, brought in from British Columbia for the particular piece. Much of Nancy Holt’s Life was dedicated to her work much like her husband, Robert Smithson, who created the Spiral Jetty. Together they shared a passion for earth worked art.

Part 2: Other works/critics:

Nancy Holt has created a lot of land art. Her most famous work is Sun Tunnels, which lines up with so that the sun perfectly lines up with the tunnels on the solstices. Her land art is meant to draw people to the earth or connect people to the universe. She has a piece called Dark Star Park which are supposed to remind viewers of absence of stars or black holes. Her work often gives viewers a frame from which to view the land. She also creates other types of work including, photo series and films. She created the most films. The films often display of one of her art works, and most of the others are still meant to be experiences of the land. For example, Swamp, is a film where she walks through a swamp.

It is key to note that Nancy Holt’s work is mostly about connecting people to land. Critics have said that Nancy Holt is part of a gouge of pioneers for the land art movement. Her work is may make you feel far from modern civilization, as I among others have noted, but hopefully it will also make you feel as if you are part of the earth, and part of the universe.

Now, take a break from your screen time and go outside! Continue reading Art 109 post Nancy Holt Stone Encloses: Rock Rings →