Her sculptures were not just meant to be looked at. Nancy Holt intended for them to transform the way people see their environment and themselves. In 1973, she installed one of her best-known works in the Utah desert: The “Sun Tunnels”, four concrete tubes three meters in diameter, frame the sunrise and sunset. At night, constellations glimmer through holes in the building material giving the illusion that they are within arm’s reach. Holt found a way to depict the movement of the celestial bodies that is both minimalist and poetic — without being kitschy. Although the sun tunnels in the Gropius Bau can only be experienced as studies, the museum impressively demonstrates how the land art pioneer used her art as a visual amplifier. The museum traces Holt’s career, spanning five decades, from her beginnings in concrete poetry to experimental films and installations that transcend spatial boundaries. Holt, who had studied biology and worked as an editor, had a deep understanding of how to combine text, image and nature. She often worked with scientists, architects and astronomers. Light is a visual medium that runs through much of her work. This is the case with Holt’s “Electrical System” from 1982, which fills the entire inner courtyard of the museum. Using light bulbs and curved metal pipes, Holt created a meadow of light for visitors to stroll through. What connects her work is the relationship between man, nature and the cosmos. Despite their enormous scale, her work blends into their surroundings and landscape. Holt illuminates what holds the world together. Today, ten years after her death, her land art explorations can be viewed as memorials against climate change: objects that can be used to align ourselves with the world and seek our place in it.
Text: Laura Storfner / Credits: Holt/Smithson Foundation, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024, Courtesy: Sprüth Magers, Photos: Luca Girardini
Gropius Bau, Niederkirchnerstr.7, 10963 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Nancy Holt: Circles of Light – Experiments with Sound, Image, Objects 1966–1986 until 21.07.2024
@gropiusbau
