Nancy Holt, 30 Below (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

a field with a tall circular brick structure with round arched windows

Nancy Holt, 30 Below (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

Nancy Holt, 30 Below (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

Nancy Holt, 30 Below (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

Nancy Holt, 30 Below (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

a figure peering into a window of a tall circular brick structure with round arched windows

Nancy Holt, 30 Below (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

Nancy Holt, 30 Below (detail) (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

Interior view of a tall circular brick structure with a circular oculus at the top

Nancy Holt, 30 Below (detail) (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

Nancy Holt, 30 Below [detail] (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

looking through two oval shaped windows in a brick structure

Nancy Holt, 30 Below [detail] (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

Nancy Holt, 30 Below [detail] (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

Nancy Holt, 30 Below [detail] (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

Nancy Holt, 30 Below [detail] (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

round and oval windows looking out onto a blue sky with white clouds

Nancy Holt, 30 Below [detail] (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

Surveying the site for 30 Below by Nancy Holt (1979)

two figures stand far apart in a green field, looking through surveying equipment

Surveying the site for 30 Below by Nancy Holt (1979)

Preparing the site for 30 Below by Nancy Holt (1979)

a large digging machine digs a square hole in a green grassy field

Preparing the site for 30 Below by Nancy Holt (1979)

Pouring the foundation for 30 Below by Nancy Holt (1979)

pouring concrete out of a chute into a square hole in a green grassy field

Pouring the foundation for 30 Below by Nancy Holt (1979)

Construction image of 30 Below by Nancy Holt (1979)

Construction image of 30 Below by Nancy Holt (1979)

Nancy Holt, 30 Below [construction] (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

Construction showing scaffolding around a large circular tower made of brick

Nancy Holt, 30 Below [construction] (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

Nancy Holt, 30 Below (construction) (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

construction image of scaffolding surrounding a tall circular brick structure

Nancy Holt, 30 Below (construction) (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

Nancy Holt, 30 Below [construction] (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

construction of a large cylindrical tower made using brick and two workers piling dirt around the base

Nancy Holt, 30 Below [construction] (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

Nancy Holt, 30 Below (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

aerial image looking down on a tall circular brick structure with an open top

Nancy Holt, 30 Below (1979)

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

1977—1980

30 Below

Nancy Holt

1979

Commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, USA

10,000 molded red bricks, grass, earth

Overall dimensions: height: 30 ft.(9.1 m); diameter: 9 ft. 4 in. (2.8 m)

Commissioned for the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York, 30 Below is a 30-foot, open-ended tower made of 10,000 locally-sourced bricks. The upper openings and arches at the base run north to south, while the side openings run east to west—aligned to the North Star. “I am putting ‘centers of the world’ wherever I go,” Holt stated. 30 Below is both an anchor, grounding perspective along the cardinal directions, and a channel, connecting the subject with unadulterated views of sky. Its formidable structure lends itself to longevity, a testament to Holt’s continual fixation on time and duration.

30 Below

See Also