Nancy Holt, Concrete Visions (1967)
Inkjet print on archival rag paper; composite made by the artist in 2012 from original 126 format transparencies 35 x 35 in. (88.9 x 88.9 cm)
Edition of 5
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Concrete Visions (1967)
Inkjet print on archival rag paper; composite made by the artist in 2012 from original 126 format transparencies 35 x 35 in. (88.9 x 88.9 cm)
Edition of 5
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Concrete Visions is one of Nancy Holt’s earliest photographic works. It was taken in New Jersey, the state where she grew up and to which she returned frequently in the development of her art. Made while she was producing her concrete poems, the title is both metaphorical and material. As with all her editioned photographic works, Holt chose to realize this image as an inkjet print in 2012, while maintaining the artwork’s date as the year the photograph was taken. Here, she explores not only the materiality of concrete but also that of photography itself, as well as not only the subject of vision but the act of looking.
Holt's "Concrete Poem" (1968) shows theater-marquis letters that have been seemingly scattered on concrete steps. It was taken in Las Vegas, Nevada on Holt’s first trip to the desert of the American West.
In 1966 Nancy Holt made her first artworks, taking the form of concrete poems. One year later she created Stone Ruin Tour, extending her exploration of language from the page to the landscape and marking her first experiments with sound.
In June 1967, Holt tape-recorded herself dictating a tour through a crumbling labyrinthine garden with stone walls, overlooks, and disappearing stairways in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. This she transcribed to create an imperfect and unfinished map to explore the site, which was given to artist friends as a guide.
