Born and raised on the east coast, Hikmet Sidney Loe fell in love with the Great Basin's deserts and the environs of Great Salt Lake. She is an author, curator, and educator whose work examines the changeable nature of the earth and addresses our perceptual and cultural constructs of the land. She draws inspiration from the smaller patterns found in the larger environment and from the changeable nature of land, water, and sky.
She is the author of the award winning book The Spiral Jetty Encyclo: Exploring Robert Smithson's Earthwork through Time and Place (2017), the first book in a new series devoted to our cultural and regional understanding of Land art from the 1960s and 1970s.
In 2021 she was named as a Research Fellow with Holt/Smithson Foundation; her work is centered on the artist Nancy Holt's extensive library.
Publications / Events
Current Articles
"Kim Stringfellow Reckons with Human Impact on the Desert in The Mojave Project," Southwest Contemporary, June 14, 2022
"Harry Reid, Searchlight, and the Erasure of Life in the Desert," Southwest Contemporary, March 2, 2022
"Spirit of the Land: Art, Activism, and Collaboration in Southern Nevada," Southwest Contemporary, vol. 5, 2022
Upcoming Books
"The Sun Tunnels Encyclo: Exploring Nancy Holt's Earthwork through Perception and Site," under contract, The University of Utah Press, (2026)
"Interpretations of Great Salt Lake: Shifting Views of a Dynamic Environment," in discussion, The University of Utah Press
"Kim Stringfellow Reckons with Human Impact on the Desert in The Mojave Project," Southwest Contemporary, June 14, 2022
"Harry Reid, Searchlight, and the Erasure of Life in the Desert," Southwest Contemporary, March 2, 2022
"Spirit of the Land: Art, Activism, and Collaboration in Southern Nevada," Southwest Contemporary, vol. 5, 2022
Upcoming Books
"The Sun Tunnels Encyclo: Exploring Nancy Holt's Earthwork through Perception and Site," under contract, The University of Utah Press, (2026)
"Interpretations of Great Salt Lake: Shifting Views of a Dynamic Environment," in discussion, The University of Utah Press
Recently...
Southwest Contemporary, staff writer starting fall 2021
"The Great Salt Lake Is Desolate. It's Also Divine," interviewed for this article by Bill Gifford for Outside Magazine
EXTRACTION: art on the edge of the abyss has worked for the past few years on programming to highlight extraction industries. A comprehensive Megazine was published in late 2020, which includes my essay on extraction processes in Utah's Great Salt Lake. This essay was reprinted (with modifications) in Dark Mountain - Abyss, Issue 20, Autumn 2021
Holt/Smithson Foundation, through their robust programming, includes a Weekend Screening program. I provided a brief introduction to the Nancy Holt film "Bob with Books" (1971), with information found here.
RadioWest hosted a program in early December, 2020 in response to a mysterious obelisk found in Southern Utah. Click here for information and to listen to the program.
EXTRACTION: art on the edge of the abyss has worked for the past few years on programming to highlight extraction industries. A comprehensive Megazine was published in late 2020, which includes my essay on extraction processes in Utah's Great Salt Lake.
Hyperallergic published my article on a film by American artist Nancy Holt (1938-2014). The film (less than ten minutes) was previously thought to be lost; it elucidates Holt's interest in landscape, vision, and viewer engagement.
FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake included an article in their Spring 2020 newsletter, "Spiral Jetty through Time," in honor of the earthwork's 50th anniversary.
"The Great Salt Lake Is Desolate. It's Also Divine," interviewed for this article by Bill Gifford for Outside Magazine
EXTRACTION: art on the edge of the abyss has worked for the past few years on programming to highlight extraction industries. A comprehensive Megazine was published in late 2020, which includes my essay on extraction processes in Utah's Great Salt Lake. This essay was reprinted (with modifications) in Dark Mountain - Abyss, Issue 20, Autumn 2021
Holt/Smithson Foundation, through their robust programming, includes a Weekend Screening program. I provided a brief introduction to the Nancy Holt film "Bob with Books" (1971), with information found here.
RadioWest hosted a program in early December, 2020 in response to a mysterious obelisk found in Southern Utah. Click here for information and to listen to the program.
EXTRACTION: art on the edge of the abyss has worked for the past few years on programming to highlight extraction industries. A comprehensive Megazine was published in late 2020, which includes my essay on extraction processes in Utah's Great Salt Lake.
Hyperallergic published my article on a film by American artist Nancy Holt (1938-2014). The film (less than ten minutes) was previously thought to be lost; it elucidates Holt's interest in landscape, vision, and viewer engagement.
FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake included an article in their Spring 2020 newsletter, "Spiral Jetty through Time," in honor of the earthwork's 50th anniversary.
The Spiral Jetty Encyclo: Exploring Robert Smithson's Earthwork through Time and Place (2017)
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Presented biannually at the Great Salt Lake Issues Forum, the Friend of the Lake Award "is given to a person, organization, or business performing outstanding work in education, research and/or advocacy to benefit Great Salt Lake." It was my honor to receive this award during the 2014 Great Salt Lake Issues Forum.
As a long-time observer of Great Salt Lake, and scholar of the earthworks that are part of its landscape, my interview is part of this oral history project.
all content copyright © Hikmet Sidney Loe, 2022