Robert Smithson (1938-1973) sought to illustrate what he called the “ongoing dialectic” in nature between constructive forces- those that build and shape form- and destructive forces- those that destroy it. Spiral Jetty, a 457 meter spiralling stone and earth platform extendinginto the Great Salt Lake in Utah, reflects these ideas. The spiral shape was used because it is an archetypal shape that appears throughout the natural world, from galaxies to seashells.
