Broken Circle/Spiral Hill

Broken Circle/Spiral Hill is an earthwork sculpture by the American artist Robert Smithson. It was created for the 1971 Sonsbeek outdoor sculpture exhibition. The piece is located in Emmen, Netherlands.[1]

Broken Circle/Spiral Hill
Robert Smithson's Broken Circle in 2006
ArtistRobert Smithson
Year1971 (1971)
TypeEarthwork sculpture
Mediumwhite and yellow sand, earth, black topsoil
DimensionsBroken Circle: 140 ft/43 m;
Spiral Hill: 75 ft/23 m ft diameter
LocationEmmen, Netherlands
Coordinates

Description

Broken Circle/Spiral Hill is the sole large-scale earthwork piece created by Smithson outside of the United States. It was commissioned as a temporary public work of art. In 1971, when it was commissioned, “No (written) agreements were made concerning the ownership and future maintenance of the work.”[1]

The approximately 140 foot (43 m) diameter Broken Circle earthwork consists of a jetty and canal; it was constructed of white and yellow sand on the bank of a quarry lake 10-to-15 (3 - 4.5 m) feet deep. The interior canal is approximately 12 feet (3.7 m) wide. The accompanying earthwork, Spiral Hill, is approximately 75 feet (23 m) in diameter at the base, and is constructed from earth, black topsoil, and white sand.[2][3]

The New York Times states that Smithson conceived of the two forms as the "section in the water is a centrifugal image; the path of its earthbound companion is centripetal."[1] Gary Shapiro, in his book, Earthwards: Robert Smithson and Art after Babel, writes that the two elements had a "decentering" effect. The complexity of the site also informed the sculptural elements, referencing both the industrial use of the site, as well as the topography of Holland's "artificial land".[4] Smithson also mentioned that he was inspired by the 1953 flooding disaster in the Netherlands,[5] and the vicinity of stone-age dolmen (hunebedden) near the artwork.[6]

Smithson wrote of the glacial erratic boulder in the center of Broken Circle as an "accidental center":[7]

I was haunted by the shadowy lump in the middle of my work. Like the eye of a hurricane, it seemed to suggest all kinds of misfortunes...The perimeter of the intrusion magnified into a blind spot in my mind that blotted the circumference out...When I return to Holland, I might bury the boulder in the center, or move it outside of the circumference, or just leave it there...a warning from the Ice Age. (Writings, pg. 182)[8]

Smithson conceived of the Spiral Hill as a kind of viewing platform for Broken Circle and for the surrounding "broken landscapes" consisting of pasture lands and mining operations.[9]

Broken Circle/Spiral Hill was Smithson's first land reclamation project, where an industrial site was "reclaimed" as a work of art.[2]

Site and realisation

Sonsbeek
Main article: Sonsbeek

Smithson was asked to realise a work in the Netherlands for the 1971 Sonsbeek exhibition. This art festival was held at an irregular schedule in and around the Sonsbeek park in Arnhem. For the 1971 edition Wim Beeren, curator at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, was asked to be the exhibition curator. He decided to build the exhibition to center around the theme Buiten de perken ("Out of bounds"), and locate many of the pieces around the Netherlands instead of only focusing on the Sonsbeek park in Arnhem.[10]

The site of the Smithson piece in Emmen is around 150 kilometres (93 mi) to the northeast of Arnhem.[11]

Location

Looking for a proper location for the work, Smithson got in contact with Sjouke Zijlstra, a social geographer[12] and head of centre for the arts in Emmen.[13][2] He suggested a sand quarry in Emmerschans, a neighbourhood northeast of the Emmen city center, noting its mineral-laden green water.[1] This quarry was owned by the local De Boer family, run under the name Zand- en Exploitatiemaatschappij Emmen B.V. ("Sand and Exploitation Company Emmen Inc.").[5] The company is currently owned by Gerard de Boer, who was six years old when the Smithson project was realised. The De Boer family worked together with Smithson to realise the project.[14]

Preparatory drawings

During 1970 and 71, Smithson made a series of preparatory concept and working drawing for Emmen that brought to light his interest in entropy.[2] The preparatory drawing Broken Circle, Emmen, Holland, 1971 notes that the "view point" is Spiral Hill, as well as a notation to move the boulder outside of the circle.[15] Also noted on several of Smithson's preparatory drawings for Broken Circle, including those for the film treatment, that the diameter is approximately 43 metres (140 ft). The art historian, Eugenie Tsai has written that Smithson's drawings for Broken Circle/Spiral Hill and Spiral Jetty informed his plans for "ground systems" earthworks for the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, a project that was never realized.[16]

The preparatory drawing Spiral Hill, Emmen, Holland 1971, notes that Smithson originally wanted to build the hill out of peat blocks.[15]

According to the book, Robert Smithson: Retrospective, one of Smithson's first concepts for the Emmen sand quarry was an unrealized earthwork Meandering Canal, Emmen, Holland 1971. The pencil drawing shows a winding canal with four meandering "oxbows" and four hill mounds. He also created a drawing from this time, Peat Bog Sprawl, Emmen Holland, 1971, depicting over 30 huge blocks of peat, 8 ft. by 3 ft. by 4 ft. each.[17][18]

Maintenance and future

After the construction of the site there was talk of the piece becoming permanent instead of just temporary for the Sonsbeek exhibition. Smithson left correspondence indicating that artwork was "a gift to the Netherlands or the Dutch people", but details on maintenance and who should be responsible for the maintenance of the work were lacking.[19] The De Boer family, who owned the site and realised the work together with Smithson,[14] did allow for visits and excursions of the otherwise private site,[5] which was still an active sand quarry as well.

In 1972 the work already showed signs of disrepair, due to erosion.[20] The municipality of Emmen planted vegetation to keep the work from deteriorating.[20]

On the 40th anniversary of the work a short documentary on the realisation of the work was released. The documentary contains footage shot by Nancy Holt, Smithson's widow, during the 1971 construction of the piece. Aerial shots were included in the documentary.[5]

In 2019 the site was sold from the De Boer family to a new owner.[19] The last time the site was open to the public was in 2021, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the work.[21][22]

  • Broken Circle in 2009 showing vegetation in canal
    Broken Circle in 2009 showing vegetation in canal
  • Broken Circle from Spiral Hill in 2021 showing shoreline erosion and vegetation
    Broken Circle from Spiral Hill in 2021 showing shoreline erosion and vegetation
  • Detail of shoreline erosion, and glacial boulder, 2009
    Detail of shoreline erosion, and glacial boulder, 2009
  • yellow sand detail of Broken Circle, Spiral Hill in background, 2009
    yellow sand detail of Broken Circle, Spiral Hill in background, 2009
  • Spiral Hill in 2009 covered with vegetation
    Spiral Hill in 2009 covered with vegetation

See also

References
  1. Tuchman, Phyllis (27 January 2017). "How Do You Sell a Work of Art Built Into the Earth?". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  2. Hobbs, Robert; Alloway, Lawrence; Coplands, John; Lippard, Lucy R. (1981). Robert Smithson: Sculpture. Ithaca, NY and London: Cornell University Press. pp. 208–214. ISBN 0-8014-1324-9.
  3. Shanken, Edward A. (2013). "Broken Circle &/ Spiral Hill?: Smithson's spirals, pata- physics, syzygy and survival". Technoetic Arts: A Journal of Speculative Research. 11 (1): 3–14. doi:10.1386/tear.11.1.3_1.
  4. Shapiro, Gary (1995). Earthwards: Robert Smithson and Art after Babel. Berkeley/Los Angeles/London: University of California Press. pp. 107–112. ISBN 0-520-21235-5.
  5. MARIJNISSEN, HANS (2011-10-25). "Na veertig jaar is de Emmer' cirkel gesloten". Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-09-07.
  6. "Drentse zandput is al veertig jaar kunst". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-09-07.
  7. Smithson, Robert; Holt, editor, Nancy (1979). The Writings of Robert Smithson. New York University Press. p. 182. ISBN 0-8147-3395-6. {{cite book}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  8. Shapiro, Gary (1997). "Uncanny Materiality" in the book Earthwards Robert Smithson and Art After Babel. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 111. ISBN 9780520212350. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  9. Smithson, Robert; Müller, Gregoire; Flam, editor, Jack (1996). "...The Earth, Subject to Cataclysms, is a Cruel Master. (1971)", in the book Robert Smithson: The Collected Writings. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 253. ISBN 0-520-20385-2. {{cite book}}: |last3= has generic name (help)
  10. "SONSBEEK 1971". Sonsbeek 20–>24.org. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  11. "Directions from Sonsbeekpark to Broken Circle". OpenStreetMap. Archived from the original on 2015-02-16. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  12. Sparklet (2011-11-24). "Sparklet: Gebroken cirkel". Sparklet (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  13. "Sjouke Zijlstra Centrum voor kunsten in Emmen". Woest en Ledig (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2021-09-07.
  14. "Wereldberoemd landart-werk Broken Circle bij Emmen is dit jaar vier keer te bezoeken". Dagblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). March 12, 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-09-07. Dit bedrijf was nauw betrokken bij de totstandkoming en het beheer van het kunstwerk. ("This company was closely involved in the creation and maintenance of the artwork.")
  15. Hobbs, Robert (1982). Robert Smithson: Retrospective. Paris, France and Cornell, NY: Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. pp. 36–39, 78–79.
  16. Tsai, Eugenie (1991). Robert Smithson Unearthed: Drawings, Collages, Writings. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 87–89. ISBN 0-231-07259-7.
  17. Tsai, Unearthed, pgs. 190-192
  18. Hobbs, Retrospective, pg. 80
  19. "Learn". Robert Smithson | Broken Circle/Spiral Hill (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2021-09-04. Retrieved 2021-09-07.
  20. Beenker, Erik (November 11, 1972). "De Gebroken Cirkel blijft". www.delpher.nl (in Dutch). Nieuwsblad van het Noorden. Archived from the original on 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2021-09-07.
  21. "Open Weekends for Robert Smithson's Broken Circle/Spiral Hill". Marian Goodman Gallery. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  22. Waddoups, Ryan (July 2021). "A Major Earthwork by Robert Smithson Comes on View in the Netherlands". Surface. Retrieved 7 September 2021.

Further reading
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