Robert Smithson
Robert Smithson
Robert Smithsonwas an American artist famous for his use of photography in relation to sculpture and land art...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionArtist
Date of Birth2 January 1938
CountryUnited States of America
Robert Smithson quotes about
language metaphorical literal
Language operates between literal and metaphorical signification
enigma explanation
Establish enigmas, not explanations.
new-york artist cities
From the top of the quarry cliffs, one could see the New Jersey suburbs bordered by the New York City skyline.
emotion glances certain
An emotion is suggested and demolished in one glance by certain words.
together events information
History is a facsimile of events held together by finally biographical information.
mistake mean artist
Mistakes and dead-ends often mean more to these artists than any proven problem
language procedures should
Language should be an ever developing procedure and not an isolated occurrence.
eye sunshine light
Noon-day sunshine cinema-ized the site, turning the bridge and the river into an over-exposed picture. Photographing it with my Instamatic 400 was like photographing a photograph. The sun became a monstrous light-bulb that projected a detached series of stills through my Instamatic into my eye.
photography artist years
There is something abominable about cameras, because they possess the power to invent many worlds. As an artist who has been lost in this wilderness of mechanical reproduction for many years, I do not know which world to start with. I have seen fellow artists driven to the point of frenzy by photography.
mutation language advertising
Language thus becomes monumental because of the mutations of advertising
eye sight hands
A camera is wild in just about anybody's hands, therefore one must set limits. But cameras have a life of their own. Cameras care nothing about cults or isms. They are indifferent mechanical eyes, ready to devour anything in sight. They are lenses of the unlimited reproduction.
artist expanding contracting
For many artists the universe is expanding; for some it is contracting.
artist museums matter
Visiting a museum is a matter of going from void to void.
eye faces cameras
Let's face it, the human eye is clumsy, sloppy, and unintelligible when compared to the camera's eye.