Michael Heizer began work on his massive installation in the Nevada desert more than 50 years ago. One of the largest artworks in the world, it cost $40 million (so far) and is now open to the public.
look like they've been there forever. There are dark, misshapen structures that look like gravestones in an ancient cemetery, and undulating hillocks reminiscent of indigenous shell mounds. And there are also concrete curbs like you'd find on any modern city street and futuristic-looking geometric sculptures.
It's like a pre-Columbian Mayan settlement, a highway interchange in Las Vegas, and the desert planet Tatooine fromCity isn't like any other art experience on Earth. And as art experiences go, it's unforgiving. Only up to six people are allowed to visit the installation per day. There's no welcome center, restroom, or shade from the relentless desert sun. There isn't so much as a chair or bench to rest on.
There's really nothing else to do except roam the seemingly-endless dirt pathways, get up close to the imposing architectural forms, and contemplate the effects of the changing light.Michael Heizer was part of a wave of iconoclastic, mostly young, white men who turned their backs on the traditional gallery scene in the late 1960s and '70s. Instead, Heizer used the wilderness of the American West as canvas and paint.