Partially Buried Woodshed

In January 1970, avant-garde artist Robert Smithson created his artwork "Partially Buried Woodshed" in a vacant area of the Kent State University campus in Kent, Ohio. A backhoe piled truckloads of dirt on an abandoned shed that once belonged to a farm on the site. His intent was to create an outdoor artwork that would age naturally over time. Smithson created a few other "earth art" or "land art" works elsewhere in the U.S. before dying in a plane crash in Texas in 1973.

After the Ohio National Guard killed four students and wounded nine others during an antiwar demonstration at Kent State on May 4, 1970, someone painted "May 4 Kent 70" and other graffiti on the shed, lending it additional meaning. On March 28, 1975, an arsonist damaged the shed, provoking a controversy over its future. Should it be demolished or preserved? Critics said it wasn't really art at all. Supporters said it was a seminal work in the genre of earth art.

After much debate, the university decided to continue allowing the shed to deteriorate naturally as Smithson intended. Years later the shed collapsed and the university quietly removed the hazardous ruins. As the campus expanded, new buildings and parking lots surrounded the site. Today, only fragments of the stone foundation, a small dirt mound, and a commemorative plaque remain.

In the 1970s, I was a Kent State journalism major and reporter for the student newspaper, the Daily Kent Stater. I covered the controversy after the arson and took the photographs on this page. Only one of my photos — a picture accompanying one of my newspaper articles — has been published before. I have many more photos of the artwork, including unique views of the exterior, interior, roof, original construction details, and arson damage.

In 2020, I digitized and donated these and more than 400 other historical photos to the Special Collections and Archives department of the Kent State University library. Included were my color and black-and-white photos of "Partially Buried Woodshed" and of Smithson's widow, Nancy Holt, whom I interviewed when she visited Kent in May 1975.

Under the conditions of my Deed of Gift contract, I retain the copyrights but allow the university to use or lend my photos for educational or historical purposes. Upon my death, the copyrights will automatically transfer to the university. To view the complete collection, please contact the Special Collections & Archives department of the Kent State University library.

"Partially Buried Woodshed" after a snowfall in 1976.
New campus buildings and parking lots now occupy this site.
(Copyright 1976 by Tom R. Halfhill)

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September 2023 view from about the same location as the winter 1976 photo above. Fragments of the woodshed can be found inside the clump of trees. (Copyright 2023 by Tom R. Halfhill)

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All that remains of the woodshed are fragments of the original stone foundation. Smithson's dirt mound is greatly eroded but still visible under the vegetation. (Copyright 2022 by Tom R. Halfhill)

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A small plaque now marks the original location near the Liquid Crystals Institute building. (Copyright 2022 by Tom R. Halfhill)

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Close-up view of the historical marker.
(Copyright 2022 by Tom R. Halfhill)

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One of my eight stories about "Partially Buried Woodshed" published in the Daily Kent Stater. For this one, I interviewed Nancy Holt, Smithson's widow, who visited Kent on May 3, 1975. (See below for links to all of my stories.)

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Nancy Holt (1948–2014), Smithson's widow, during her 1975 visit to the site after the arson. (Copyright 1975 by Tom R. Halfhill)

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Detail of the 1975 arson damage. (Copyright 1976 by Tom R. Halfhill)

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One of my seven rolls of 35mm black-and-white film of "Partially Buried Woodshed." My original b&w negatives and color slides are now at the Kent State University library's Special Collections and Archives.

During the controversy, several people wrote letters to the editor, which are also in the Daily Kent Stater online archive. Try searching for "smithson" or "woodshed". These searches will also find articles written when Robert Smithson created the artwork in 1970.

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For an outstanding biography of Robert Smithson, read Suzaan Boettger's Inside the Spiral: The Passions of Robert Smithson (University of Minnesota Press, 2023). My review on Amazon:

"Inside the Spiral is a deeply researched biography of Robert Smithson that meticulously interprets his art and analyzes the psychology behind it. Before reading this book — which Suzaan Boettger spent decades writing — I knew of Smithson only as a pioneering creator of outdoor 'earth art.' He was already deceased when I interviewed his widow and wrote about one of his creations for my college newspaper in 1975–76. Inside the Spiral revealed to me the full scope and meaning of his life and art.

"Boettger carefully documents Smithson's evolution from painter to sculptor to earth artist. Another revelation was his prolific writing in art journals. Thoroughly sourced and footnoted, this illustrated book serves as both an insightful biography and an academic work of art criticism. It's highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about Smithson and his enduring art."