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From the artists can’t get no respect department


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Robert #1. Philebrity points out how Robert Indiana unwittingly helps Philadelphia make money with a Valentine’s Day promotion of Love-themed rip-offs.

Robert #2. Robert Smithson‘s Spiral Jetty may get clobbered by oil developers in Utah — yikes! Send emails quick:

Daniel Payavis says:

The Feb. 13 deadline for comments is only a week away. If you haven’t done so already, PLEASE help stop this disastrous drilling exploration by sending emails, phoning, anything. A friend of mine has supplied the email address for John Harja who runs the state’s public land policy coordinating office: johnharja@utah.gov

New York Times
February 6, 2008
Arts, Briefly
Artists Rally for Spiral Jetty in Utah
By RANDY KENNEDY

An oil company’s plan to begin exploratory drilling near the remote site of Robert Smithson’s “Spiral Jetty” along the Great Salt Lake in Utah has stirred an impassioned response from artists and others who fear that the project could endanger that massive artwork. The jetty, a 1,500-foot-long curlicue of salt crystals, rocks and mud jutting into the lake, was completed by Smithson in 1970, three years before he died in a plane crash. The State of Utah, which must approve any plan for drilling in the area, decided recently to extend a period for public comment on the proposal until Feb. 13. John Harja, who runs the state’s public land policy coordinating office, said on Tuesday that the office had received 900 letters, e-mail messages and calls about the issue in the last several days. Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, issued a statement calling the jetty “a significant cultural site” and saying that the trust was “deeply concerned about the potential harm that energy development could bring” to it.

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