The Spiral Jetty was made by artiest Robert Smithson in 1970 located in the Great Salt Lake of Utah. This earth art is a large spiral extending into the lake allowing visitors to admire this art whenever this lake water is high or low. Yet there is a debate on if the Spiral Jetty makes the Great Salt Lake a museum or not. I do not believe that the Great Salt Lake qualifies as a museum in which this piece of art is located at which is a public place.

A museum is a place which houses ordinary object to help explain to contemporary people the knowledge and truth of the world. The museums are buildings with the purpose of preservation of objects which is designed to engage the public in an informational manner about the objects and furthering the knowledge of the world. Museums are dedicated in the preservation of all objects from art, to clothing, to everyday tools from past civilizations around the world.

Unlike Great Salt Lake which is just a public space where an artist placed his work for the public people to enjoy and observe the natural course of his art. Yes there are people working on documenting and preservation of the Spiral Jetty but they are not a part of a museum. Yet the Spiral Jetty is just a piece of art that is not contributing to furthering the knowledge or truth of the world. As I have stated earlier the Great Salt Lake is not a museum it is a natural location where Robert Smithson placed he work.

~SLW