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20. ROBERT SMITHSON,
13 March - 1 May 1983A retrospective exhibition of the American artist Robert Smithson
(b. 1938 Passaic, New Jersey, d. 1973 Amarillo, Texas) was held on the
upper floor of the museum from 13 March - 1 May 1983. The exhibition was
organized by the America Center of Finland.
The original retrospective exhibition of Robert Smithson was held in the
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art in Ithaca, New York, in the autumn of
1980 in cooperation with Cornell University. The exhibition was organized
by Professor Robert C. Hobbs.
The travelling exhibition that was seen in Finland was organized by the
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art and Cornell University, and it was the
same exhibition that was on display at the United States pavilion at the
Venice Biennial in the summer of 1982.
The same exhibition was held at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville
de Paris at the beginning of 1983 before coming to Finland.
The exhibition included 22 sculptures from 1963-71 and 39 drawings from
1960-73 as well as a large number of photographs. The exhibition also
included "The Spiral Jetty", a film that Robert Smithson made
together with Bob Fiore and Barbara Jarvis.
Of all the sculptors whose reputations became firmly established in the
second half of the 1960s, Robert Smithson is one of the most significant.
His early production has close connections with Minimalism. Smithson later
on became an earth artist.
Smithson was already internationally known when, at the age of 35, he
was killed in an air crash on 20 July 1973 while photographing "Amarillo
Ramp", a work he was currently working on in Texas.
The exhibition enabled the viewer to examine several trends in contemporary
art, such as Minimalism, Conceptual Art and Earth Art. Although there
are many theoretical and conceptual questions to ponder over in connection
with these movements, the works in the exhibition also allowed the viewer
to make playful and humorous comparisons.
Works belonging to the Sara Hildén Foundation were shown on the
lower floor of the museum, with international art, particularly classics
of modern art, being the main focus.
Catalogue:
Robert Smithson: Retrospective exhibition
Text in Finnish and English. 111 pages
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
ISBN 82-80612
Price FIM 10
The exhibition was attended by 10,368 visitors.
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