Passion photo
Art galleries valiantly resist visitors' lack of interest. Photography, often more accessible, is favored by the public. Yet beneath its neon-lit surface, Vegas is home to an active art community.
The Marjorie Barrick Museum took over from the Las Vegas Art Museum when it closed in 2009. The museum specializes in contemporary art: painting, sculpture and, here again, a marked preference for photography. An exhibition of the legendary Ansel Adams was held in 2010. The nature photographer who celebrated the American West, and in particular the Sierra Nevada and Yosemite Park, deserved a tribute. Born in 1902 in San Francisco, and died in 1984 in Monterey, Ansel Adams perfected the "zone system" in his black-and-white landscapes. Adams pursued his quest for "straight photo" or pure photography, a guarantee of unprecedented clarity. He joined forces with Edward Weston to found the f/64 group, which offered a new vision of the West Coast. An environmental activist before his time, Adams glorified the great parks of the American wilderness. His unique perception of light and composition, the basis of his famous "zone system", made him a master of the genre, even today.
Private galleries maintain the vitality of this almost parallel culture in the city of all excesses. Photographer Ruben Martinez has opened the RM Photo Gallery to show his photos, whose glossy luminosity captures the eye. His landscapes, inspired by the great surrounding parks, are an excellent souvenir to take home.
In Summerlin, the Bobby Wheat Gallery presents photographs by the artist of the same name. Wheat's landscapes are processed from old prints, or unrolled in panoramic shots(Downtown Summerlin 1825 Festival Plaza Dr. Suite 160).
National Geographic has chosen Las Vegas as the location for its sixth art gallery. And what better address than the Strip to open the Nat Geo Fine Art Gallery? (3500 Las Vegas Blvd So., Suite E11A).
Arts District
South of Fremont Street, the Las Vegas Arts District is a haven of tranquility scorned by tourists. In any case, this district offers a striking contrast with the Strip. Instead of casinos and monumental replicas, you'll be greeted by a little neighborhood life. It's a great place to have a drink, dine and stroll along tree-lined streets. There are even designer boutiques and antique shops. If possible, choose the first Friday of the month to enjoy the First Friday Art Walk events.
In the heart of the district, the Arts Factory is an art gallery housed in a former hangar. Painters, sculptors and photographers capture the spirit of the times to our delight. Since 1991, a concert hall, plays and readings complete the program.
In the 18b Arts District, graffiti and stencils are proudly displayed on walls, garages, streetcar stops and street corners. Here you'll find a concentration of small restaurants, bars, art galleries, designer boutiques and nightlife events.
Land art
This current of contemporary art composes from natural elements, or even around the landscape itself. This is why Land Art works, being destroyed by the elements, are often doomed to an ephemeral destiny. Land art flourished in Nevada in the 1960s. The movement's leader, Michael Heizer (b. 1944), designed City, considered the world's largest work of contemporary art. City is not only a work of art, but also an experience, an encounter with nature. The idea of building a city in the heart of the desert was born in 1972. The project took twenty years to materialize. In 1962, Swiss neo-realist Jean Tinguely introduced the desert into one of his destructive, machine-based performances, Study for the End of the Wolrd N°2, which took place in the desert near Las Vegas.
Returning to City, its geometric forms, stretching over two kilometers, evoke both a film set and the sculpted remains of a mythical city. Heizer drew up the plans for this colossal project in advance, but he also drew on his inspiration as the work progressed. The idea was to disturb the environment as little as possible, and to create a lasting work of art. As you explore, you'll discover areas of vegetation, echoes, silences and the sound of footsteps - all elements that form part of the experience. Total immersion guaranteed.
Public art
Jesse Carson Smigel's Snowball sculpture, at the corner of 1st and Coolidge Street, is unmistakable. This big, tongue-tied ball-cat is part of a public art project launched by the city. This is how sculptures spring up in squares across the city: the Storytelling Garden's red butterfly, a thirty-meter steel work, was imagined by 2017 shooting survivor Sue Ann Cornwell in collaboration with Alicia Mierke. Taking Flight Sculpture is part of a collective healing process.
Public art takes on more surprising forms, such as Phalanx of Angels Ascending, created near the Neon Museum by James Stanford in 2019. Stanford wanted to pay homage to the iconic Blue Angel statue by Betty Willis, which signalled the Blue Angel Motel when he was a child. A symbol of the Vegas landscape transformed into a self-propelled Madonna.
Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone takes us into the desert with his Seven Magic Mountains. The colorful installation is located near Jean Dry Lake and Interstate 15, south of Las Vegas. It consists of seven boulders set in Ivanpah Valley. In this way, Rondinone wanted to signify the human presence in the Mojave Desert, poetic outbursts in an unexpected place. Supported by the Nevada Museum of Art, the work was installed in the desert in 2016, where it was to remain for just two years. But such has been its success that there is talk of finding a long-term home for it. When art knows how to charm ..
