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GALLERY THREE: THE NATURAL, THE SOCIAL, AND THE TECHNOLOGICAL
In the late 1960s and early 1970s artists who were involved with Minimalism began to move their work from the galleries and museums into outdoor locations. They also brought the natural world into these art spaces. You'll find an example immediately after walking up the stairs into Gallery 3, where you will encounter
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Robert Smithson Leaning Strata
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In the far right corner of Gallery 3 near the angled window are two works by Robert Smithson, who is best known for exploring the relationship between the natural world and the museum. In his sculpture Leaning Strata (1968), this series of geometric forms leaning one upon the other would, if continued according to the organic system established, conclude in a spiral. The videotape documents Smithson's famous site-specific Earthwork Spiral Jetty (1970), a monumental 1,500 by 15-foot-wide spiral constructed of mud, salt crystals, rocks, and water on the Great Salt Lake in Rozel Point, Utah. This work is perhaps the quintessential example of EARTHWORKS, or LAND ART, enormous sculptural landscapes made from the natural materials found in remote sites.
In the late 20th century it is not only the form and materials, but the content of the work that "supports" the sculpture. Transcending its physical form, the object becomes a vehicle to communicate larger cultural or social concerns, challenging viewers to observe and question the world around them.
Another socially motivated work is Hachivi Edgar Heap of Birds' Building Minnesota (1990), a re-creation of which is to your right. This SITE-SPECIFIC INSTALLATION was created for the West River Parkway overlooking the Mississippi River near downtown Minneapolis. The work is a memorial that both honors the 40 Dakota men executed for their roles in the U.S.-Dakota Conflict of 1862 and challenges established perceptions about American history and culture.
To your right by the windows is a multimedia sculpture by Charles Long with Stereolab, 3 to 1 in Groovy Green (1995). Please sit down, relax, put on the headphones, and enjoy the digitally produced music and the smooth lacquered finish of the green plastic form.
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