The Unwanted Boulder

The Unwanted Boulder - an audio documentary about Robert Smithson’s 1971 earthwork Broken Circle/Spiral Hill in Emmen, The Netherlands. Narrated by musician Lee Ranaldo (former Sonic Youth).

The audio documentary associatively explores the genesis of American artist Robert Smithson's only earthwork located in Europe, Broken Circle/Spiral Hill (1971), made in a sand quarry near Emmen in the province of Drenthe, The Netherlands.
In the audio documentary, the listener travels through Robert Smithson's world of art and ideas and his struggle with a huge, millennia-old boulder that turned up in the middle of his artwork. Initially he was unhappy with this intruder but over time came to terms with it. Despite this false start, Smithson considered Broken Circle/Spiral Hill one of his major works.

The Unwanted Boulder - an audio documentary about Robert Smithson’s 1971 earthwork Broken Circle/Spiral Hill in Emmen, The Netherlands. Narrated by musician Lee Ranaldo (former Sonic Youth).

The audio documentary associatively explores the genesis of American artist Robert Smithson's only earthwork located in Europe, Broken Circle/Spiral Hill (1971), made in a sand quarry near Emmen in the province of Drenthe, The Netherlands.
In the audio documentary, the listener travels through Robert Smithson's world of art and ideas and his struggle with a huge, millennia-old boulder that turned up in the middle of his artwork. Initially he was unhappy with this intruder but over time came to terms with it. Despite this false start, Smithson considered Broken Circle/Spiral Hill one of his major works.