Down With Smithson
In his review of the Robert Smithson retrospective at MOCA, critic Christopher Knight—in between revealing a solid grip on current "street lingo" ("The sculpture is Minimalist bling-bling.")—cited the Center For Land Use Interpretation's Matt Coolidge as being "too young to have witnessed Smithson's brief but blazing evolution firsthand," but nonetheless identified him as a builder on the Earthworker's precedent in that he shares the idea that "sculptural manipulation of the wilderness landscape creates art with imperceptible boundaries that cannot be contained within a museum or gallery." For those Smithson aficionados out there flustered by such distingue language, let's just say that it seems Knight believes that Coolio is seriously representin.'
On the real tip, CLUI is currently presenting Wendover, USA, "an informational exhibit about the remarkable town and region on the edge of the Salt Flats that has been home to the Center's Great Basin programs for eight years." Wendover, some of you may recall, is the desert burg where your GGP editors ensconced themselves whilst researching Salt Desert Tales. CLUI's exhibit features photographs and video of and about the West's "twin-cities," Wendover, UT and West Wendover, NV.
In association with MOCA's Smithson retrospective, Coolidge himself will be leading "A Tour of the Monuments of the Great American Void," an educational bus ride through the salt desert with stops at the Spiral Jetty, Nancy Holt's Sun Tunnels, and an overnight stay at the State Line Nugget Casino in Wendover. Tickets for the tour are available through MOCA - for reservations and information call (213) 621-1745 or email at education@moca.org.
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Wendover, USA will be on display from
August 27 to October 10, 2004
The CLUI - Los Angeles
9331 Venice Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 839-5722