Smithson, who made large-scale earthworks in the 1960s and 1970s, also engaged in an active drawing practice. A Heap of Language is both an artwork and a mission statement, marrying the artist's preoccupations with the physical presence of sculpture and the meaning behind language. Written in the artist's elegant cursive on graph paper, words about words "speech," "mother tongue," "Babel" accumulate into a hefty pile, so that thought becomes thing. This drawing attests to Smithson’'s belief that language is a concrete material.

Gallery label from

From the Collection: 1960-69, March 26, 2016 - March 12, 2017.

Medium Pencil on graph paper
Dimensions 6 1/2 × 22" (16.5 × 55.9 cm)
Credit Gift of Jan Christiaan Braun in honor of Agnes Gund and Marie-Josée Kravis in appreciation of their extraordinary leadership and dedication to The Museum of Modern Art
Object number 1720.2015
Department Drawings and Prints

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