Comments about ‘'Spiral Jetty': Of salt and earth’

I took my kids there once, and the memory is still strong. 99% of daily life the month i visited the spiral jetty i have no recolection of, but i recall the trip out to the jetty. along one stretch of dirt road was a field of wild sunflowers. PS. take water, its a long way there and back with no services and dirt roads.

Great article. My wife and I tried to visit the Jetty in 2004 but ended up being fooled by the "fake" oil-drilling jetty. We took lots of pictures and I left confused and confounded about how the jetty we found did not resemble the ones in the pictures.

Then this year (2009) I again started reading about the spiral jetty and came across something that said that there was another misleading jetty nearby. And I thought "I wonder if we went to the wrong one?" So I pulled up google maps looked at the satellite view of the jetty, and scrolled over a bit and lo and behold, I found the other jetty that we had seen!

So naturally, I _had_ to go back and see the real one. So my wife and I and our two kids (which hadn't been born yet in 2004) all made the day-long trek from West Jordan (2 hours each way, I estimate, which isn't bad). We got video and pictures of the whole thing. Unfortunately, the water level was very low, so the jetty was completely "dry" which was a bit disappointing. Ah well, good times!

and hardly anyone in Utah knows about it. If you're at all interested in art, you have to go there at least once before you die! We've been there twice, but the first time, summer of 2003, we underestimated the time it would take to get there. By the time we arrived, we had to use flashlights to walk out to a point where we could barely see the spiral shape, the dim twilight reflecting in the water within the coil. The next time, Feb. 2005, we left earlier in the day. The salt coating was mostly gone from the rocks by then, but it was very inspiring to see it and to walk the spiral to its center. Warning: the roads are bad in spots. Be sure you go in a suitable vehicle. Our 4-wheel-drive got stuck in the mud on the second trip!

Art is anything an Artist creates. An Artist is anyone who calls himself and Artist.

I wrote an opinion earlier that obviously some editor thought to be offensive. Because it hasn't been posed. So here I try again. I thought that is what this forum is for, to express opinions? I think the Spiral Jetty is offensive. It is a scar on the face of the natural great salt lake. I'm still astounded at the rhapsotic articles (like this one) that appear from time to time saying just how wonderful the spiral jetty is. Give me a break. I've been there many times. To me, it is an eyesore and totally unnatural esoteric waste pile. How did some eccentric millionaire in the 1970's ever get permission to sully the waters with fill in this manner? I know there are more pressing issues in the world, but I thought the Deseret News would at least post something that posits an opposite view... again, unless some editor there censors it.

I'm sorry, but looking at the absolutely fantastic photo of the sunset over the Great Salt Lake, you can see the little lollypop squiggle at the bottom... Wholly unnatural and to my eye, it despoils the natural beauty of the sunset and the lake. It's tantamount to a tattoo on the human body... Calls attention to itself for the sake of itself, while despoiling the natural form.

My first journey to view the jetty was successful, interesting, and under-whelming. There is much art that has the same effect. I will say, the project was intriguing enough that I wanted to experience it again. My second attempt was too early in the spring to reach the site, but still yielded views and feelings and interesting photographs of the ranching along the route. I must say I am surprised by the comment that the jetty interferes with a pleasant view of the sunset! It certainly seems there are plenty of vantage points of every sunset. It is a real stretch to complain about this structure among miles and miles of also-interesting landscape.

Few people realize that a spiral is a documented pagan symbol. Although there is some disagreement in scholarly circles, most authorities recognize it as a pagan symbol for death. Is this really the image we want to convey for this state?

Thank goodness there is such academic disagreement and general ignorance regarding the meaning of a spiral! The rest of us can continue to appreciate the innate beauty of this shape while "scholars" and "authorities" argue over completely extraneous trivialities.

Utah is blessed with an abundance of beautiful rock art, from the monumental formations of southern Utah, to the petroglyphs that have been preserved for centuries... to the Spiral Jetty hidden in a remote location along the Great Salt Lake. The jetty calls to mind some of the ancient rock formations and stone carvings of the British Isles. Thanks for the article! It will be fascinating to watch the constant evolution of this unique local work of art.

Personally, I can take the jetty or leave it. The piece of art that gets my goat is the Tree of Utah, Wendover Tree, or whatever you want to call it on I-80 crossing the salt flats. Every time I go past there, I look the other way. I'm sure that others think it is great, but I liked the salt flats just the way they were. :)

In response to censorship I would rather see the beauty of this great piece of art that was constructed by a eccentric millionaire, than looking at the remanents of a oil drilling operation that has blemished more of Utah than any artist has or will.

When I first saw the article, I was impressed with this wonderful form of natural art. And then I read that it was man-made. Kind of took the "awe" out of it for me.

Does anyone have a lat/long for the Spiral Jetty? Would you share it with me here please if you do. Thank you.

latitude / 41.4376373291 North
longitude / 112.6690979 West

Thanks Google

The spiral as Smithson saw it doesn't have to do with death. I actually am an art historian of late 20th C. American art. The use of the spiral was inspired by two things: the molecular spiral of a salt crystal and the concept of entropy (see his project on the monuments of Passaic, NJ). As far as spoiling the beauty of the lake, that has a lot to do with his project. He is commenting on the failed oil-rigging that sits nearby. He is undermining traditional senses of beauty (art for the elite) and trying to see something wonderful in much more mundane, man-made structures (bridges, oil-riggings, sandboxes, etc.) I know this is a bit rambling (it's late) but the Jetty is somewhere between these man-made structures and the spiral of a salt crystal. A reuniting of man with nature.

I'm an artist and have been to Spiral Jetty various times between 2001 and 2006. The landscape was always beautiful, and I was surprised how much it changed from year to year and season to season. I don't feel that the jetty is a scar; rather, it provides a focal point for the appreciation, not only of modern art, but of one of the most beautiful and unique landscapes in the world. If it weren't for the jetty, who would actually make the trip out there?