Unititled (Encyclo)

These works depict nude figures with words, numbers and nonsensical phrases and what appear to be layers of compressed rocks and minerals. Smithson described them as ‘phantasmagorical drawings of cosmical worlds’. One year after making these, he abandoned painting and drawing to focus solely on sculpture. His sculptures take organic materials, collected from the landscape, directly into gallery spaces. He later made monumental ‘earthworks’ outside using material extracted directly from sites such as soil, stone and wood. Robert Smithson’s work is an important reference for many artists. In this exhibition, Jennifer West references his land art work and The Crystal World artists refer to his writing which contrasts the slow, geometric construction of crystals in the earth with slick, throw-away, new materials such as plastic.

[above text from 'Liquid Crystal Display' exhibition 23/02/19 - 16/06/19]

This piece demonstrates Smithson’s interest in concrete poetry, where the visual structure of the words is equally as important as the other elements of poetry, such as rhythm and rhyme. Words become the compositional elements in this piece, exploring their pictorial possibilities. He has paired this with classical looking figures and various compositional lines and doodles. Despite often being associated with minimalism, he was never satisfied with its clarity and maintained a unique link to Pop Art. As part of three Smithson drawings in the mima collection, there are overlaps between them. This is apparent through the consideration of text or the figures, both as individual works and as a group they come to represent many of Smithson’s interests. Not only that but, as a move away from his earth works for which he is most famous; they represent a lesser known but vital part of his artistic practice. Acting almost like a mind-map for this thought processes, these pieces record the ideas for both his art and his writings. Indeed, this piece contains more list like structures than the other pieces, with the word ‘Encylco’ perhaps calling in reference to an encyclopedia, which contains vast amounts of specific information.

[above text from Middlesbrough Collection show, MIMA]

Presented by the Art Fund under Art Fund International