Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
Photograph: Tom Martinelli, 2009
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
Photograph: Tom Martinelli, 2009
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
Photograph: Tom Martinelli, 2009
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
Photograph: Tom Martinelli, 2009
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
Photograph: Tom Martinelli, 2009
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
Photograph: Tom Martinelli, 2009
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
Photograph: Tom Martinelli, 2009
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
Photograph: Tom Martinelli, 2009
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dark Star Park [detail] ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
Gunited concrete, stone masonry, asphalt, steel, water, earth, grass, plants, willow oak
Overall surface acrea: Two-thirds of an acre (.27 ha)
Sphere diameters: three 8 ft. (2.4 m) and two 6 ft. 6 1⁄2 in. (1.9 m)
Pool diameters: one 18 ft. (5.4 m) and one 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Pool depth: 1 ft. 6 in. (45.7 cm)
Large tunnel: L. 25 ft. (7.6) x inner Diam. 10 ft. (3 m)
Small tunnel: L. 15 ft. (4.5m) x inner Diam. 3 ft. (.91 m)
Pole heights: two 20 ft. (6.1 m) and two 16 ft. 8 5⁄8 in. (5.1 m)
Pole diameter: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Sun/shadow alignment: The shadows cast by the spheres and the steel poles line up with the shadow patterns on the ground each year on August 1 at approximately 9:32 a.m., the anniversary of the day in 1860 when William Henry Ross acquired land that later became Rosslyn.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
People enjoying Nancy Holt's Dark Star Park ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
People enjoying Nancy Holt's Dark Star Park ( 1979-1984)
Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
The site in Rosslyn, Virginia before construction of Dark Star Park.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
The site in Rosslyn, Virginia before construction of Dark Star Park.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Informational brochure on Nancy Holt's Dark Star Park (1979-84)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Informational brochure on Nancy Holt's Dark Star Park (1979-84)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Construction of the gunited concrete spheres in Nancy Holt's Dark Star Park (1979-84).
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Construction of the gunited concrete spheres in Nancy Holt's Dark Star Park (1979-84).
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Construction of the gunited concrete spheres in Nancy Holt's Dark Star Park (1979-84).
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Construction of the gunited concrete spheres in Nancy Holt's Dark Star Park (1979-84).
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Construction of the concrete walls in Nancy Holt's Dark Star Park (1979-84).
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Construction of the concrete walls in Nancy Holt's Dark Star Park (1979-84).
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt using a helioscope to model the shadow alignment for Dark Star Park.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt using a helioscope to model the shadow alignment for Dark Star Park.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt using a helioscope to model the shadow alignment for Dark Star Park.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt using a helioscope to model the shadow alignment for Dark Star Park.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt at Dark Star Park shortly after its completion in 1984.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt at Dark Star Park shortly after its completion in 1984.
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Holt designed Dark Star Park in concert with the development of the site as a whole, integrating landscaping and sculptural features to encompass the neighboring building and adjacent traffic island. Concrete spheres are interspersed throughout the park, visible through tunnels, reflected in pools of water, and framed in the carved-out hole of another sphere. Every year on Dark Star Park Day people gather to watch the shadow alignment. The shadows cast by the concrete spheres and the steel poles align with asphalt shadow patterns on the ground at 9:32 AM on August 1—the anniversary of the land’s acquisition by William Henry Ross in 1860. Dark Star Park contemplates the physical and ideological structures of land ownership while quoting the cosmos.
Monument wars contesting public space. Controversies arising over renovations of Brutalist landscape design. As the custodian of a world-renowned artist-designed park now in its fourth decade, these recent developments resonate. The idea that public sculpture, parks, and plazas are subject to changing mores as manifestations of our collective identity has never been more evident.1
The making of Dark Star Park has been long and arduous. I became involved in areas of activity in which I had had limited experience, such as architectural planning, landscape design, contractors’ specifications, engineering, guniting, drainage, sidewalk construction, bureaucratic procedures, etc. Five years is a long time to sustain an art idea and work toward its realization. But during that time possibilities for other works have been evolving out of the intermediate stages, and my concern with the value of making art that is also functional and necessary in society has been reinforced. I hope the precedents established here will continue in future art projects throughout the world.
Nancy Holt, 1984
Holt, Nancy. “Dark Star Park.” In Nancy Holt: Sightlines, edited by Alena J. Williams, University of California Press, 2011, pg 118-119. Originally published in a slightly different form in the brochure Dark Star Park: Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia: Nancy Holt, produced by Arlington County, Virginia, in 1984 on the occasion of the park’s dedication.
Nancy Holt's Waterwork is one of her System Works, a series that makes visible the systems that shape everyday experience. Created for the campus of Gallaudet College in Washington, D.C., a university for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students, the sculpture responds to the topography of the site while revealing the infrastructure that carries water through the urban environment.
In the fall of 1972 Nancy Holt was invited to be an artist in residence at the University of Rhode Island in Kingstown, and during her stay she created the earthwork Views through a Sand Dune. Working with a group of students on Narragansett Beach, Holt inserted a five-foot long cement-asbestos pipe directly through a large sand dune on the beach. Tuned to the proportions of the body and installed through the sand dune at eye-level, the pipe piercing the dune serves as an aperture to be looked through.
