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TTwo of the most prominent features of the 1960s and 70s that characterized landscape art were the use of landscape and large scale. Nancy Holt (1938-2014), one of the few women associated with the medium, and the subject of a new exhibition at Goodwood. Art Based in Sussex, he is perhaps best known for Sun Tunnels, his 1976 work set in the Utah desert in which four concrete cylinders interact with the natural flow.
But perhaps the most important piece of the Goodwood show is not outside the 70-acre site, but rather a small piece of paper, just 30cm x 45cm, on the wall of the building. In the center is a circle surrounded by the words of the concrete poem “MOONSUNSTAR EARTHSKYWATER”.
Curator Ann Gallagher said: “It was created before he was big in this area, but it refers to the concerns that he had in every medium that he used for more than 40 years. Circles appear frequently throughout his work. They are creative tools that give you a look at the world, but also connect to his interest in systems – astronomy, which often revolves around the earth, what happens in space, and nature. We have used it as a theme for the whole exhibition.”
Goodwood’s is the first exhibition in the UK to bring together Holt’s photography, films and poetry as well as indoor and outdoor installations and a film about the Sun Tunnels. Visitors are greeted by an installation of ventilation ducts – one of several Holt designs – that start from the interior of the building and extend out into the community. “It’s another system that we take for granted,” says Gallagher. “Things that help where we live and work but we rarely see them.” In the past there was oil in the pipes but this type contains the air we breathe.
Elsewhere, there are circles. A room installation called Mirrors of Light uses a single light source that emerges from a line of mirrors to create ellipses on blank walls. Pictures work, almost abstracts, play with the shape of the surrounding light. And the main chalk site at the base of the foundation, Hydra’s Head, consists of six circular pools of water of different sizes arranged in the shape of the constellation Hydra. Gallagher said: “He was very concerned with the state of nature. His solar panels were aligned with the sun and had holes that resembled constellations.
Holt studied biology as an undergraduate before switching to art. She is married to Robert Smithson, creator of Utah’s famous 1970’s Spiral Jetty. They both toured the UK in 1969, exploring Dartmoor and Salisbury where one of Holt’s paintings, Trail Markers, records his experiences with silent practices in places such as small circles carved into rocks to guide walkers.
After Smithson died in a plane crash in 1973, aged just 35, Holt took control of his legacy and career. After his death, the Holt/Smithson Foundation was established to oversee both of their careers, but a sunset clause ensured that it closed in 2038, the year of their joint years.
“He was very passionate,” says Gallagher, who met Holt near the end of his life. “And I also remember him as popular, friendly, friendly and knowledgeable.” There’s a bit of a playful scene in the show where Holt shows off her versatility of being ‘artist’, ‘feminist’ and ‘weird’ for 24 hours. Yes, the lines move up and down. to know the existence of a person within them.”
Nancy Holt: MOONSUNSTAR EARTHSKYWATER is on Goodwood Art Foundation, nr Chichester, 2 May until 1 November.
‘Preoccupation with behavior and thought’: the major works of Nancy Holt
Sun Tunnels
The Sun Tunnels are a little different from the big pieces on the surface because there is a strong sense of humanity. The streets may look bigger in the pictures but they keep the human body well, which gives a sense of the person’s position in those places.
Hydra’s Head
Another site-related project took place near the Niagara River in New York. At the end of his residence in 1974, the pools of water, which were placed to reflect the vast expanse of the sky and respond to the chaos of living insects, were filled with stones.
Trail signs
Holt’s photographs not only capture the small circular machines that guide walkers on Dartmoor, but also reflect his wider interest in human structures within the larger environment.
Air IV: Hampton Air
This is a responsive site based project based on Holt’s previous designs, and responsive to the building and its architecture. Planning is different in every environment, yet it always looks at the patterns we take for granted hidden within the very fabric of all of us.
Concept of the company MOONSUNSTAREARTHSKYWATER
During the 1960s, Holt was a literary editor at Harper’s Bazaar magazine and began producing concrete poetry and literary works. In a few years he moved on to other visual arts but a deep preoccupation with human behavior and thought continued throughout his career.
