Nancy Holt Sun Tunnels 1978. Film still © Holt/Smithson Foundation; courtesy Holt/Smithson Foundation and Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York
Discover Nancy Holt's film exploring her site-specific land art
American artist Nancy Holt (1938–2014) was a pioneer of site-specific installation.
Experience her 26-minute film Sun Tunnels 1978 at Tate Liverpool + RIBA North, which documents the making of her large-scale sculptural installation in the Utah desert. The film shows the construction of four huge concrete tunnels that are positioned to align with the sunrise and sunset of the summer and winter solstices. It features footage of these sculptures as they frame the sun and capture and cast the sunlight into different patterns. The work brings together themes of art, architecture and ecology.
Sun Tunnels is courtesy of the Holt/Smithson Foundation and Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York.
Tate Liverpool + RIBA North
Gallery 2 Tate Liverpool + RIBA North, Mann Island
22 June – 29 July 2024
Free
This film was on display at Tate Liverpool + RIBA North, Mann Island while our Albert Dock home is closed for redevelopment. Find out more about the transformation project here.
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Land art
Land art or earth art is art that is made directly in the landscape, sculpting the land itself into earthworks or making structures in the landscape using natural materials such as rocks or twigs
Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson in England, 1969
Robert Smithson, best known for his Land Art piece Spiral Jetty, and Nancy Holt, best known for her work Sun Tunnels, were both fascinated by man’s imprint on the natural landscape. They often travelled together and documented their work – and themselves – in photographs. In 1969 they took an important journey through England and Wales visiting sites that resonated with their practice, ranging from ancient ruins and landscaped gardens to wild natural places. For the first time, Holt reflects on the trip and its influence on their art