Robert Smithson, Amarillo Ramp (1973)
Tecovas Lake, Amarillo, Texas
Diameter: 140 ft. (42.7 m)
Height: Ground level to 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Photograph: Gianfranco Gorgoni

The earth and rock circle of Smithson's Amarillo Ramp spiraling out of the earth.

Robert Smithson, Amarillo Ramp (1973)
Tecovas Lake, Amarillo, Texas
Diameter: 140 ft. (42.7 m)
Height: Ground level to 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Photograph: Gianfranco Gorgoni

Robert Smithson, Amarillo Ramp (1973)
Tecovas Lake, Amarillo, Texas
Diameter: 140 ft. (43 m)
Height: Ground level to 15 ft. (4.6 m)
Photography: Gianfranco Gorgoni

Richard Serra, Nancy Holt, and Tony Shafrazi posing for a photo after the completion of Smithson's Amarillo Ramp, 1973.

Earthwork

Amarillo Ramp

Robert Smithson

1973

Lake Tecovas, Amarillo, Texas

Rocks, earth

Diameter: 140 ft. (42.7 meters); Maximum height: 15 ft. (4.6 meters)

Constructed to emerge from the base of an artificial lake, Amarillo Ramp now lies in a dried-up basin, its original structure altered by erosion. It is Smithson’s final earthwork; while surveying the site in 1973, Smithson was killed in a plane crash alongside pilot Gale Ray Rogers and photographer Robert E. Curtin. The sculpture was posthumously completed by Nancy Holt and artists Tony Shafrazi and Richard Serra. Overgrown with mesquite, its once-defined edges sloping into the earth, Amarillo Ramp is a solemn illustration of entropy. Continued efforts for its restoration and preservation as a ruin speak to the lasting impact of Smithson’s legacy.

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Amarillo Ramp

See Also