Spiral Art

In Mathematics, the spiral is a curve that originates from a point, moving farther away as it moves around the point. Spirals are one of the oldest shapes found in ancient artwork that dates back to the stone age. A famous example of the use of spiral art in ancient artworks can be seen at Newgrange in Ireland. 

Throughout the history of art,  spiral art is widely seen in paintings and sculptures.  Robert Smithson (a famous American artist) chose the natural world as his “ canvas” for illustrating the spiral found so often in nature. The changing elements of water, colour, wind, light, and white, crystallized salt deposited in black basalt salts remind us of the changes conveyed by the revolving spiral.

Famous Spiral Artists

Here is the list of the famous spiral artists that are highly appreciated for their tremendous work.

• Alston

• Emma Amos, 

• Romare Bearden, 

• Calvin Douglas, 

• Perry Ferguson, 

• Reginald Gammon,

• Felrath Hines, 

• Alvin Hollingsworth, 

• Norman Lewis, 

• William Majors, 

• Richard Mayhew,

• Earle Miller

• William Pritchard,

•  Merton Simpson, 

• Hale Woodruff 

• James Yeargans.

Fibonacci Spiral Art

A Fibonacci sequence is the series of a number where a number is the addition of the last two numbers. The Fibonacci sequence is often seen in a graph such as the one given below.  Each of the squares shows the area of the next number in the sequence. The Fibonacci spirals are further drawn inside the squares by joining the corners of the boxes. 

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The squares are joined together appropriately because the ratio between the number in the sequence is very close to the Golden ratio (1), which is around 1.618034. The greater the numbers in the Fibonacci sequence, the closer the ratio is to the Golden ratio.

The resulting rectangles and the Fibonacci spirals are also known as the Golden rectangle.

Land Art Robert Smithson Spiral Jetty

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The monumental artwork spiral jetty was introduced by Robert Smithson. The land art Robert Smithson Spiral Jetty is located at Rozel Point peninsula on the northeastern shore of Great Salt Lake. With the help of the six thousand tons of black basalt salt and Earth gathered from the site, Smithson’s Spiral Jetty is a 15-foot-wide coil that stretches more than 1,500 feet into the lake.

Using the natural deposit from the site, Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty is elongated into the lake a couple of inches above the waterline. However, the earthwork is affected by seasonal fluctuations in the lake level, which can alternately flood the work or leave it completely exposed and covered in salt crystals. 

In 1999, the renowned artist Nancy Holt, Smithson’s wife, and the Estate of Robert Smithson, the monumental artwork was donated to Dia Art Foundation. Dia is the prominent owner and steward of Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty.