Amarillo Ramp: Robert Smithson's last work

In 1974, the American artist's last monument of land art was surveyed in the pages of Domus: finished by Richard Serra, Nancy Holt, and Tony Shafrazi, walking along it was delving into an endless and timeless space.

This article was originally published in Domus 531 / February 1974

The last work of Robert Smithson

In an arid and abstracted landscape scorched by the sun for 350 days of the year, Robert Smithson's (1938-1973) last work was completed. It concluded the trilogy which began with Spiral Jetty in 1970, at Great Salt Lake, Utah, and with The Broken Circle, at Emmen, Holland, in 1971. Amarillo Ramp is situated on Tevocas Lake, an artificial lake 17 miles [27 kilometres] north of Amarillo, in the Texas Panhandle. The idea of producing a work in an artificial lake originated from the analogical and historical need to integrate or to flank a utilitarian irrigation operation with an artistic act that would aestheticize the territory. The semi-desert surroundings, swept by continuai tornadoes, were chosen for their physical and atmospheric features, capable of changing the colour of the earth and rocks according to the variation of solar incidence.

Constructed in sandstone rock with white veining, the ramp starts from the shore and stretches for 120 metres into the lake. Its diameter (45 metres) is the maximum permitted by the capacity of the lake. When the lake is not dry and is at its normal water level, the ramp emerges by 3,3 metres and occupies half the lake. As one walks along it one feels as though one were going into an endless and timeless space, swinging between earth and sky.
Top: Domus 531 / February 1974 page detail. The <em>Amarillo Ramp</em>, Texas started by Robert Smithson and completed by Richard Serra, Nancy Holt, and Tony Shafrazi. Photo by Gianfranco Gorgoni. Above: Domus 531 / February 1974 page detail. <em>The Broken Circle</em>, Emmen, The Netherlands, 1971
Top: Domus 531 / February 1974 page detail. The Amarillo Ramp, Texas started by Robert Smithson and completed by Richard Serra, Nancy Holt, and Tony Shafrazi. Photo by Gianfranco Gorgoni. Above: Domus 531 / February 1974 page detail. The Broken Circle, Emmen, The Netherlands, 1971
Domus 531 / February 1974 page detail. <em>Run down</em>, liquid asphalt trail, Cava di Selce, Roma, October 1969
Domus 531 / February 1974 page detail. Run down, liquid asphalt trail, Cava di Selce, Roma, October 1969
Domus 531 / February 1974 page detail. <em>Spiral Jetty</em>, Great Salt Lake, Utah, 1970
Domus 531 / February 1974 page detail. Spiral Jetty, Great Salt Lake, Utah, 1970
Domus 531 / February 1974 page detail. Robert Smithson in 1969
Domus 531 / February 1974 page detail. Robert Smithson in 1969
Domus 531 / February 1974 page detail. Left, <em>Mirror Trail</em>, mirror trail in the snow, New Jersey, winter 1969. Right, <em>Upside down tree</em>, Florida, April 1969
Domus 531 / February 1974 page detail. Left, Mirror Trail, mirror trail in the snow, New Jersey, winter 1969. Right, Upside down tree, Florida, April 1969

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