Where can i find an *affordable* copy of the film "Spiral Jetty" by Robert Smithson?

March 8, 2007 8:58 AM

Where can i find an *affordable* copy of the film "Spiral Jetty" by Robert Smithson? This film documents Smithson making his famous earthwork. I have found one site online that rents the DVD for $400.
posted by fac21 to media & arts (9 answers total)

If you just want to watch it, you should try your local library (does that sound snarky? I didn't mean to sound snarky). You could ask them to get it for you by inter-library loan, if they don't have a copy.

You also can try a university, if there's one near you. I once wanted to see a photography book that no public library nearby had, but Harvard let me be declared a "visiting scholar" for an afternoon so I could look through their copy.
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:12 AM on March 8, 2007

Dozens of libraries have copies of Spiral Jetty. Make an interlibrary loan request through your local library; chances are you can get it for free.
posted by cog_nate at 9:13 AM on March 8, 2007

drat.
posted by cog_nate at 9:14 AM on March 8, 2007

You got me curious enough that I requested it through my interlibrary loan system. It should be coming from Wyoming but it's a VHS not a DVD. *gasp* But it is free!

I didn't look at cog_nate's link but it's possible it will be hard to find through the library on DVD, in which case you can borrow a VHS player from a friend if you don't have one.
posted by 6550 at 9:49 AM on March 8, 2007

The 1 min 51 secs of the movie available on YouTube make it look pretty amazing. Is the movie a regular documentary or more of an artwork in its own right?
posted by roofus at 2:56 PM on March 8, 2007

Why not watch it on the Smithson website for free? (Quicktime).

(I also seem to remember it being sold at the MoMA bookstore, for a lot less than $400.)
posted by turducken at 2:58 PM on March 8, 2007

Just as a warning, the film itself is somewhat pretentious. That bit in the YouTube excerpt where he's describing every part of the Jetty as "mud, salt crystals, water"? That's cut down -- in the actual film he goes on like that for what feels like five minutes.
posted by neckro23 at 4:12 PM on March 8, 2007

thanks to everyone for your help! i have placed an interlibrary request, and i am going to (attempt) to download the movies off the smithson website.
posted by fac21 at 6:28 AM on March 10, 2007

to turducken: the movie clips on the official smithson website seem to be only excerpts from the film.

i saw the complete film at a museum a couple years ago, and i recall it being about 20 or 30 minutes.

i appreciate your help nevertheless. thanks!
posted by fac21 at 3:19 PM on March 10, 2007