In April 1970, the American sculptor Robert Smithson completed one of the most radical and monumental projects of modern art at Rozel Point on the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake in Utah: *Spiral Jetty*. Using dump trucks, a tractor, and a front-end loader, Smithson built a 1500-foot-long, 15-foot-wide counterclockwise spiral jutting out into the reddish, hypersaline waters of the lake. The construction utilised 6,550 tons of black basalt rock, mud, and salt crystals excavated from the lake shore.

*Spiral Jetty* was a direct rebellion against the sterile, sheltered walls of the gallery (the 'white cube') and the commodification of art. Situated in the wilderness, the work cannot be bought, sold, or moved. For Smithson, the erosion and change wrought upon the work by nature and time (entropy) were essential parts of the art. Indeed, shortly after its construction, rising water levels submerged the jetty entirely, keeping it hidden for three decades. It re-emerged in the early 2000s during a drought, covered in a brilliant white crust of salt crystals. Today, the work continues to change constantly depending on water levels, weather, and the shifting colours of the lake's algae.

Smithson chose the spiral shape because it represents the natural processes of growth and decay (galaxies, hurricanes, seashells) and because of a local legend claiming the lake was connected to the Pacific Ocean via a massive subterranean whirlpool.

Maintained and preserved by the Dia Art Foundation, *Spiral Jetty* remains a monumental record of humanity's aesthetic and physical dialogue with the natural environment.