Nancy Holt, Starfire II (1986)
Anchorage Delaney Memorial Park for Sky Art Alaska, Alaska Visual Art Center
Steel, earth, fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire II (1986)
Anchorage Delaney Memorial Park for Sky Art Alaska, Alaska Visual Art Center
Steel, earth, fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire II (1986)
Anchorage Delaney Memorial Park for Sky Art Alaska, Alaska Visual Art Center
Steel, earth, fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire II (1986)
Anchorage Delaney Memorial Park for Sky Art Alaska, Alaska Visual Art Center
Steel, earth, fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Island in Ship Creek, Anchorage, Alaska
Steel, earth, fire
Overall dimensions: 2 ft. 6 in. x 12 ft. x 18 ft. (76 x 365 x 548 cm)
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Island in Ship Creek, Anchorage, Alaska
Steel, earth, fire
Overall dimensions: 2 ft. 6 in. x 12 ft. x 18 ft. (76 x 365 x 548 cm)
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Island in Ship Creek, Anchorage, Alaska
Steel, earth, fire
Overall dimensions: 2 ft. 6 in. x 12 ft. x 18 ft. (76 x 365 x 548 cm)
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Island in Ship Creek, Anchorage, Alaska
Steel, earth, fire
Overall dimensions: 2 ft. 6 in. x 12 ft. x 18 ft. (76 x 365 x 548 cm)
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Island in Ship Creek, Anchorage, Alaska
Steel, earth, fire
Overall dimensions: 2 ft. 6 in. x 12 ft. x 18 ft. (76 x 365 x 548 cm)
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Island in Ship Creek, Anchorage, Alaska
Steel, earth, fire
Overall dimensions: 2 ft. 6 in. x 12 ft. x 18 ft. (76 x 365 x 548 cm)
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt and Michelle Stuart preparing sticks for burning in Holt's Starfire.
Anchorage, Alaska, 1986
Photographer yet to be identified
Nancy Holt and Michelle Stuart preparing sticks for burning in Holt's Starfire.
Anchorage, Alaska, 1986
Photographer yet to be identified
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Starfire (1986)
Installation view: Ecstatic Land, Ballroom Marfa, TX, 2022
Steel, earth, and fire
Overall dimensions variable
Fire pit diameters: two 14 in. (35.6 cm), five 12 in. (30.5 cm), one 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Fire pit depth: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Photograph: Heather Rasmussen
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
In 1986 Nancy Holt was invited to Alaska by the Visual Arts Center of Alaska in Anchorage for a two-person exhibition with the artist Michelle Stuart. While in Anchorage during the summer for the installation of the her sculpture Pipeline at the Visual Arts Center gallery in Anchorage, Holt made two iterations of Starfire. The sculpture is comprised of eight fire pits arranged in the configuration of the stars in the Big Dipper constellation and the North Star. Eight small fires illuminate the ground and the surrounding area in cosmic formation, bringing the sky down to the earth.
The first iteration of Starfire was created on a small island in Sheep Creek River in Anchorage, right behind the Visual Arts Center. Holt and a team of helpers including Michelle Stuart and artist Ted Gardeline used offcuts of steel duct from Pipeline to create small fire pits that were recessed into the ground. Small sticks were placed in each fire pit as fuel before lighting them all at dusk. The second iteration of Starfire took place later in the summer of 1986 on August 16th, when Holt installed the work in Anchorage Delaney Memorial Park for the exhibition Sky Art Alaska: a collaborative conference and exhibition focusing on "art that responds to the sky" hosted by the Visual Arts Center and Center for Advanced Visual Studies at MIT.
Holt wrote a proposal for a third presentation of Starfire in 1998 for an exhibition in Tempe, Arizona, which was not realized. The first posthumous presentation of the work took place in 2022 for the exhibition Ecstatic Land at Ballroom Marfa in collaboration with Holt/Smithson Foundation.
Far away suns brought down to Earth in flames. At the stroke of light fires fly up from below ground, brightening the twilight in an all-consuming blaze. Heat waves quiver, sparks soar, and long streaky flames stab the atmosphere. After a while the fiery combustions begin to diminish, slowly burning down to a few flickers, and finally extinguish into darkness, leaving black holes in the bare land awaiting illumination.
Far away suns brought down to Earth in flames. At the stroke of light fires fly up from below ground, brightening the twilight in an all-consuming blaze. Heat waves quiver, sparks soar, and long streaky flames stab the atmosphere. After a while the fiery combustions begin to diminish, slowly burning down to a few flickers, and finally extinguish into darkness, leaving black holes in the bare land awaiting illumination.
Nancy Holt
Untitled statement about Starfire in Sky Art Alaska, exhibition catalogue, unpaginated (Anchorage: Visual Arts Center of Alaska in cooperation with the Center for Advanced Visual Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1986)
Holt visited Alaska in March of 1986 upon invitation from the Visual Arts Center of Alaska in Anchorage, who hoped she might create a work of art in celebration of the region’s beauty. Holt was instead struck by the infiltration of the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline through pristine wilderness. In July of 1986 Holt returned to Alaska to create the System Work Pipeline for a two-person exhibition with Michelle Stuart titled Alaskan Impressions at the Visual Art Center of Alaska in Anchorage.
Holt created the photo-series Alaskan Pines while traveling through Southcentral Alaska upon invitation from the Visual Arts Center of Alaska in Anchorage. In March of 1986 Holt visited the towns of Eklutna and Chitina, Alaska, where she created two photographic series: Alaskan Pines and Athabascan/Russian Orthodox Graveyard.
Nancy Holt created this concrete poem along with two System Works in response to the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline in 1986. The facts and figures of the pipeline’s operation snake along the oil’s route; to read them one must shift positions, a physical disturbance that accentuates the discomfort of the information itself.
