Robert Smithson Unearthed

"Robert Smithson has been one of the most influential and revolutionary artists since World War II. Best know for his sculpture and monumental earthworks, particularly the Spiral Jetty in the Great Salt Lake, Utah (1970), his work also includes drawings, paintings, collages, and writings. Eugenie Tsai's Robert Smithson Unearthed: Drawings, Collages, Writings takes a comprehensive look at Robert Smithson's various works on paper from 1957 until his death in 1973. Tsai finds many threads of continuity within the large, disparate, and complex body of work that Smithson produced on paper: his fascination with language, literature, and the role of the artist-writer; his interest in science fiction, natural history, and spiritual and mythological motifs; and his use of assemblage. She links his early work to his later production by tracing the expressionistic style, variety of media, subject matter, and means of execution in the work, revealing the breadth and richness of Smithson's vision. This unprecedented overview of the artist's development contains 8 color plates and 102 black-and-white reproductions--many of them little-known works from Smithson's early career. These drawings and collages were shown at the Wallach Gallery at Columbia University in the fall of 1991. Also published for the first time in this book are a selection of artist's writings, including early poems and essays, a film outline, and an interview." -- Publisher's description