On Wednesday 10 September, 2025 a unique event will take place. Within the Land Art Lives programme, we will make a live connection between two iconic artworks by American artist Robert Smithson: Spiral Jetty (1970) in Utah and Broken Cirle/Spiral Hill (1971) in Emmen. They are the only two remaining “earthworks” by Robert Smithson in the world. Last year, this online live event took place for the first time. Although the live stream did not go entirely smoothly due to weather conditions in Emmen, we received positive reactions from online visitors from different continents and time zones. Land Art Lives takes up the challenge with the elements to once again create a live connection between the two works.

Relationship between work and image

Most people will know Spiral Jetty and Broken Circle/Spiral Hill from (film) images on the Internet, in books and magazines. After all, the artworks are difficult to access and are located in remote locations. A few have visited the works in real life. Robert Smithson was fascinated by the power of photography, film and language to shape experiences. In his essays and artworks, Smithson explored the relationship between the physical location and the version presented in an exhibition space. He called this the dialogue between the site (an elsewhere) and the nonsite (the here) as the Site/Nonsite dialectic. From Dawn till Dusk aims to create a digital space for an encounter between these two earthworks and provides an opportunity to explore and discuss how media influence our perception of sculpture and landscape over time.

Seven-hour livestream on two continents

From Dawn till Dusk (episode 2) will be broadcasted live from first light at Spiral Jetty, located at the Great Salt Lake in the state of Utah, and concluding with last light at Broken Circle/Spiral Hill located in Emmen in the Netherlands. This special digital event is a part of Land Art Lives, an on-going research project exploring the relevance of Land Art for our current times. Presented in collaboration with Land Art Contemporary, Land Art of the American West (Texas Tech University) and Holt/Smithson Foundation this event will be available as a livestream on September 10, 2025 through the Land Art Lives website.

Date and time

Wednesday September 10, 2025 from 14:00 - 21:00 p.m. / Central European Time (6 AM - 1 PM / MT in Utah).

The event can only be followed online.

Reactions to the livestream

Read Riccardo Venturi's article written in response to the livestream, the short report with visitors' impressions, and the video on this page.