Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Mirrors and Shelly Sand
Robert Smithson American
Not on view
Loosely defined as decay, but more precisely understood as energy drain, entropy plays a key role in Smithson’s work. Mirrors and Shelly Sand both illustrates and performs the phenomenon of entropy, especially the loss of stability that occurs as physical systems degrade. A loose, amorphous pile of sand—a by-product of erosion—rests directly on the floor. Even in the museum, Smithson’s sand remains prone to loss and disintegration, forever struggling to retain its shape and its mass. A different kind of entropy is at play in the double-sided mirrors that divide the mound at regular intervals. Thanks to their reflectivity, the mirrors confound perception by creating optical illusions and visual conundrums. For this reason, our experience of the work is at odds with reality: what we see is not necessarily what exists.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
