Spring Jetty Book Review

Spring Jetty Book Review

Introduction

Spiral Jetta is a personal journal-like book by Erin Hogan about her road trip to visit some of the most phenomenal works of land art in the American West on her Volkswagen Jetta. The trip was also Eric Hogan’s way of experimenting solitude. The book cover shows the photo of a deserted tarmac road in a hilly location taken from a car’s windscreen by the driver; the book cover also has a subtitle “a road trip through the land of art of the American west,” explaining best the cover photo of the book.

The title Spiral Jetta may seem contradictory since it is a combination of one of the venues’ name she visited, Spiral Jetty, and her car Volkswagen Jetta. The name spiral may not actually represent her journey to Spiral Jetty but also the experiences she had during the 3,000-mile road trip. During the trip she experienced anxiety, heat exhaustion, disorientation, and drunkenness before she emerged an enlightened person, these experiences may explain the concept of “Spiral” to describe the crooked experiences and Jetta to represent the journey; therefore, Spiral Jetta is an account of this journey.

Erin Hogan is not only the author of Spiral Jetty, but she has also written articles on The Art Institute of Chicago, criticism articles in exhibition, essays and other publications such as The Chicago Reader and The American Scholar. Erin is the director of public affairs at the Chicago’s Art Institute and is also, a recovering art historian with a PhD in art history from Chicago University.

Thesis

Erin Hogan’s road trip in her Volkswagen Jetta commenced with her first venue at the Great Salt Lake, that is, Robert Smithson’s monumental land artwork, the “Spiral Jetty.” Erin’s book contains seven more chapters (excluding chapter one: Spiral Jetta) documentation of her other visits. These were in Nevada, at the Double Negative of Michael Heizer, the Roden Crater by James Turrell, New Mexico at the Lighting Field of de Maria, Nancy’s Holt Sun Tunnels and other stops in Mexico, Utah, and the Mecca art pilgrim. Erin Hogan’s excursion is a historical art travelogue and also a self-discovery venture, in which, she gives a gregarious reading tour guide to her readers.

Erin decided to begin her journey, not prepared and not premeditated due to anxiousness, avoiding to face the reality that she would be alone in this adventurous excursion. She also seems to want to add more excitement into her life without involving other people, her enthusiasm, although submerged in fear was to conquer the fear of being alone or lonely. The thought of travelling alone was enough to make her almost quit the trip; however, Erin decided not to act in the typical way that people do, which is, preparing to leave in a tour, she woke up and left for the trip without a plan.

The author seems to be at her 40s as she mentions and maybe experiencing middle life crisis; psychotherapists have it that at the age of 40 to early 50s, women may experience middle life crisis. Middle life crisis refers to a crisis to self-confidence and self-identity that occur at the middle ages of a man or woman due to a transition and adjustments that happen during this period. Middle age crisis involves triggered emotions and thoughts such as one thinking that he/she has missed out on life and the good years are gone, disinterest in sex, perceiving self as an old person, becoming carefree, boredom among others.

Erin Hogan’s enthusiasm to now venture into travelling is influenced by Robert Smithson’s description of his adventure. Erin Hogan definitely must be experiencing a middle-age crisis since the young spirited, passionate desire to try and pursue “something joyful and dreadful” does not complement well her age. Erin is too old to think about dreadful things, even use the term, although, any standard does not prohibit her, the word used was entirely out of line. Erin must be bored with her city life, and it seems that even in her youth, she did not experience an adventurous one; thus, the present crisis to desire to live this moment.

The destinations to the venues were not premeditated, although the first can be the only one she intended since she quotes the artist, Robert Smithson, who got inspired to explore. Erin Hogan ends up enjoying the venture, especially her stay in Motel 6 in Salt Lake and in Moab. One of her worst experiences was at a random hotel she lodged at St George in Utah whereby she had to change rooms thrice since each of the rooms were stuffy smelling of smoke and bug-infested. Erin tried to find the Sun Tunnels by Nancy Holt but failed, ventured to search for James Turrel’s Roden Crater, spent a night in Utah and Moab and also shortly was at Juarez. These destinations were randomized places she visited in her American West venture.

Hogan later picks up her friend at the airport in Albuquerque who’s company seemed to quench the exclusive exploration terminologies Erin used into a strange anthropological perception and hard criticism. For example, she describes Juarez as hot, bloody, desperately poor, filthy and crowded, unlike her other artistic and topographical description. Some of her other descriptions in comparison to Juarez, Mexico are like when she describes the bed of the Great Salt lake she asserts that, the bed stretches out from a frontal view, then progressively into the water melting into the horizon and the expanse seemingly joining the vast firmament. Erin does not fall short of functional descriptive language; one can almost draw a perfect picture out of her descriptions. Another phrase she uses to describe the terrain was that the mountains surrounded her and the heat enveloped her. Erin Hogan was very distinct in all her descriptions enough to notice the sudden change of poor and reckless criticism of Juarez, Mexico.

Conclusion

Erin Hogan’s Spiral Jetta is quite a phenomenal journal-like account of a travelogue in conjunction with the personal experience of the author as a woman who avoids solitary moments

and hides in crowds but now breaks out of her comfort zone to explore the world and find new

experiences. Erin Hogan applies proper artistic prowess in her language while describing the

land arts she encounters, furthermore, she not only shares artistic information but also narrates her personal experience which makes the book more interesting than it would have been while purely artistic. Lastly, Spiral Jetta is a piece of ingenious writing incorporating entertainment

(the drama, mystery behind the travelogue), profession and real-life experiences; it is impressive to

see how these three concepts have been fused. I find the book quite fascinating and diverse in that; its multifaceted approach draws one to have an interest in art or narrative books.

Spiral Jetta should have a five-star rating on Amazon and all other seller options, it is worth the praise.