The first time I saw the artwork, I was touring campus. I thought it looked like a circular castle with its stone arches and circular window; Though, I might have noticed it coming on to campus from the south end, the artwork is isolated from most of the campus and the main path way does not pass by it, making it easy to miss. At the time I wondered why the sculpture is off in a corner of campus, I suppose the sculpture garden must be spread out to cover all of campus. The grassy expanse that causes the sculptures isolation plays in to the castle motif: a lonely castle, atop a hill. The booklet “University Public Art” describes Stone Enclosure: Rock Rings by Nancy Holt as aligned to the North Star.        

When I jogged up to see the art piece the other night it was clear, windy, and very cold. I tried to locate the North Star and discover the connection myself. However, there is too much light flooding the area to spot the North Star. Or maybe someone could spot it if they knew exactly where to look. I need the big and little dippers, so I couldn’t find it from inside the artwork. I enjoyed the 360-degree view and with the stars above. I certainly felt the importance of the landscape. As I looked toward the South West over the grassy hills and toward the rec. center I felt as if I were in an isolated castle atop a hill, while looking East toward the arboretum I though the view looked like I was in a fort at the edge of the woods, and while looking North toward the bright, glowing buildings of campus, I felt like I was in an ancient ruin. It looks like something old, something like a ruin, castle, or fort because of the use of stones and the absence of furniture or labels indicating where you are and what you’re looking at. It also looks modern because of the type of stone and the fact that it is not very weather worn (Gut Reaction Ruth Ewald). The sculpture is loved by all of the students on campuses and celebrated by even more.

Nany Holt was an amazing Sculpture. Throughout her career she created many works that related to, and worked with, their surrounding environment, “Nancy began her career concrete poetry and making photographs, films and videos. From the beginning she was interested in how perception is shaped, and she used the mediums of lenses, viewfinders and other structures to alter the way urban space, land and the firmament are experienced over time” (Kennedy). In her career she created many wonderful and celebrated sculptures each changing through time and showing more beauty with more age and view, “Rock Rings changes considerably… the tones and colors of the stones deepen, and the pale gray gravel on the ground turns dark gray.  It is physical enough to be able to withstand all these climate changes, yet it’s intimately involved with those climate changes and natural disturbances” (Bambrick).

This is a very strong connection that has created a sublime and liminal space uniting man, heaven, and earth. Continuously maintaining its transcendental, meditative atmosphere (Bambrick).

Nancy Holt’s works were very celebrated in the art community.  Many people raved over her work on the sun tunnel, but overall many people appreciated the details she incorporated into her sculptures, “Holt’s major themes were vision, memory, perception, time and space. Using the natural environment as both medium and subject, Holt endeavored to make her audience conscious of the cyclical time of the universe, the daily axial rotation of the Earth and its annual orbit around the sun. In doing so she transformed perception of the landscape” (Parafin). Other critiques  also responded well her work; such as, Phyllis Tuchman who stated that, “It was Holt’s most ambitious work, made of sand, concrete, topsoil and other materials, with seven tunnels that people could walk through” (Clocker). This response was to her most celebrated work of the sun tunnel, but non the less expresses people admiration for her art and what she expresses through it.

The sculpture was created between 1977 and 1978. The sculpture was gifted to Western Washington University from Nancy 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 consist of two rock wall, 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 that very with different hues and shades that very between purple, orange and even tints of blue. The stone is schist stone, brought in from British Columbia for the particular piece.

Much of Narcy’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.

Works Cited

Photos by Alexandra Wolfsen, Research by Alexandra Wolfsen and Ruth Ewald, Initial Reaction by Ruth Ewald

104, Art & Culture. “Stone Enclosure, Nancy Holt.” Stone Enclosure, Nancy Holt. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 22 Jan. 2017. http://culturedart.blogspot.com/2010/11/stone-enclosure-nancy-holt.html

Bambrick, Gail. “Visionary Land.” Tufts Now. N.p., 23 Oct. 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2017. <http://now.tufts.edu/articles/visionary-land-nancy-holt>.

Colker, David. “Nancy Holt Dies at 75; Her Art Interacts with the Land and Sky.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2014. Web. 14 Feb. 2017. <http://articles.latimes.com/2014/feb/15/local/la-me-nancy-holt-20140216>

Kennedy, Randy. “Nancy Holt, Outdoor Artist, Dies at 75.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 Feb. 2014. Web. 14 Feb. 2017. <https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/arts/design/nancy-holt-outdoor-artist-dies-at-75.html>.

“Nancy Holt | Avignon Locators 1972-2012.” Nancy Holt | Avignon Locators 1972-2012. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2017. http://www.nancyholt.com/holt.html

“Parafin | Artists | Nancy Holt.” Parafin | Artists | Nancy Holt. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2017. <http://parafin.co.uk/artists–nancy-holt.html>.

Whited, Kayla Christine. “Western Washington University’s Stone Enclosure: Rock Rings.” Medium. N.p., 12 Oct. 2015. Web. 22 Jan. 2017. https://medium.com/@kaylacwhited/western-washington-university-s-stone-enclosure-rock-rings-ed465c189e43#.8sub3mfed