Wednesday, April 22, 2009

"Double Negative"






In the Mohave Desert, near the little town of Overton, Nevada, Michael Heizer produced a work of art called "Double Negative". This art is made by heavy equipment rather than by paintbrushes or hands. At first glance it's nothing much. But the more that I looked at it the more intriguing it became. Then I walked through it and it was really neat.
To get to Overton take exit 93 south off of Interstate 15. If you're in Las Vegas making money, it's only 50 miles east to this exit. Better yet, take exit 75, about 30 miles east of Vegas and visit scenic Valley of Fire State Park on the way to Overton.
"Double Negative" is no-cost, so if all of your money is gambled away, no worries. It is 4 miles from Overton (you can pick up a map in town to get there). It's easy to get to but hard to see at first. You will really have to be vigilant as it looks like two canyons at first, until you notice the uniformity. If the weather is not too hot, it's nice to ride a bicycle or to hike to the art work, thereby reducing your carbon footprint. The crazy artist had 240,000 tons of stone removed to create this piece. It's now about 40 years old, making it enduring like all great art. It's really cool and I recommend it.
Heizer has forever been working on another Earth Art project near Flagstaff, Arizona. It will be in the Great Basin Desert north of where the land transitions into the Sonoran Desert south of Flag. It was at first "supposed" to open in 2004. Now who knows when? "Roden Crater" will not be no-cost to see.
Near Overton there is supposedly another Earth Art project, "Las Vegas Piece", by Walter De Maria. We could not find it, after searching for hours. It must be overgrown or eroded we thought. De Maria did "Lightning Field" in the Great Basin Desert of New Mexico. The closest city would be Albuquerque. It's not free access and no photography is allowed, so I don't care about it.

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