Literature’s Elsewheres: On the Necessity of Radical Literary Practices

Abstract

of Amarillo Ramp, completed on his behalf by Tony Shafrazi, Nancy Holt, and Richard Serra. Inside the Spiral is a robust example of the degree to which his art continues to stimulate us today. I highly recommend the volume to those interested in ecological art, the creative process, environmental concerns, and interdisciplinary studies. It will no doubt become the definitive volume on this artist for a long time. It is enhanced with an extraordinary collection of images (photographs, posters, artwork, etc.), including a section of plates, and is divided into six parts: Prologue and Background; Prehistory and Early Painting; Clandestine Fantasies, 1962– 1964; Mutation of Artistic Persona, 1965–1968; Professional Consummation, 1969–1970; and Expansion and Returns, 1971–1973. Following the study itself, Boettger includes 50 pages of notes and a condensed list of books in Smithson’s library. Finally, it is noteworthy that the way in which Smithson reached outside of the traditional gallery is increasingly common today. Despite his abbreviated career, he was a pioneer in this respect. His trajectory left me wondering how his art would have grown had he lived another thirty or forty years. With Smithson, I find the question of what might have come later particularly compelling given how radically artmaking, technology, and our interest in the environment have evolved in recent decades. How environmental change is so evident today is particularly thought-provoking in relation to Smithson’s legacy, because his earthwork work is alive and has become a part of our larger narrative as a result.