45°, 90°, 180°, City by Michael Heizer. Courtesy Triple Aught Foundation. Photo: Ben Blackwell
he American artist Michael Heizer has never really articulated his intention for City, a monumental, sprawling complex of mounds, geoglyphs and concrete pyramids set in the brutally hot and inaccessible high desert of Nevada, about three hours north-west of Las Vegas.
But after a 50-year wait, this week visitors will finally have the opportunity to start forming their own interpretations of the work by the 77-year-old land artist. The sculpture is not ritualistic and may not be entirely understandable or necessarily useful. Its presence alone may be its greatest strength.
“I can remember walking the land with Michael in 1973. [There was] nothing there but me, Michael, a few survey markers and a lot of wind,” says Barbara Heizer, the artist’s former wife, who spent 17 years in Nevada from 1974...
45°, 90°, 180°, City by Michael Heizer. Courtesy Triple Aught Foundation. Photo: Joe Rome
Complex 1, City by Michael Heizer. Courtesy Triple Aught Foundation. Photo: Mary Converse
City by Michael Heizer. Courtesy Triple Aught Foundation. Photo: Ben Blackwell
