The Rock Has Landed. Levitated Mass, A 340 Ton Boulder by Michael Heizer, Hits LACMA.

Levitated Mass by artist Michael Heizer, considered one of the last great 'land artists', is composed of a 456-foot-long slot constructed on LACMA's campus, over which is placed a 340-ton granite megalith. At 340 tons, the boulder is one of the largest megaliths moved since ancient times.


above: Michael Heizer, sketch for Levitated Mass, 2011, © Michael Heizer

above: The granite boulder is now carefully positioned atop the center of a 456-foot-long concrete slot, which museum visitors descend in order to walk beneath it.

As with other works by the artist, such as Double Negative (shown below), the monumental negative form is key to the experience of the artwork.

above: Michael Heizer's Double Negative, 1969-70, two trenches cut into the eastern edge of the Mormon Mesa, northwest of Overton, Nevada.

Heizer conceived of the artwork in 1968, but discovered an appropriate boulder only decades later, in Riverside County, California. Taken whole, Levitated Mass speaks to the expanse of art history, from ancient traditions of creating artworks from megalithic stone, to modern forms of abstract geometries and cutting-edge feats of engineering.

Visiting the Quarry: the Making of Levitated Mass:
During the winter of 2011, Director Michael Goven visited the quarry in Riverside, California where the 340-ton monolith was awaiting transport to LACMA.



Crowds gather at LACMA to see Levitated Mass:

In the early morning hours just before dawn on March 10th, 2012, the transporter carrying the megalith arrived at the museum. The transporter traveled through four counties (Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, and Los Angeles) and twenty-two cities in a carefully orchestrated journey that attracted thousands of bystanders.  

The Megalith Arrives at LACMA: The Making of Levitated Mass:

As a show of thanks to the many communities which saw and hosted the historic transport of the 340-ton boulder that is now part of Michael Heizer’s Levitated Mass at LACMA, the museum is offering free admission to residents of select zip codes during the week of June 24 to July 1, 2012.

 

Simply show proof of residence in one of the below zip codes—for instance, a driver’s license— at the LACMA ticket office, and you’ll be granted free admission to all of our exhibitions and collection.

90001 90002 90003 90004 90005 90006 90007 90008 90010 90011 90015 90016 90018 90019 90020 90021 90024 90028 90029 90034 90035 90036 90037 90038 90043 90044 90046 90047 90048 90052 90056 90057 90058 90059 90061 90062 90064 90067 90068 90069 90089 90095 90210 90211 90212 90220 90221 90232 90242 90247 90248 90249 90255 90301 90302 90303 90305 90501 90502 90503 90504 90505 90506 90601 90602 90603 90604 90605 90606 90621 90623 90630 90631 90638 90639 90650 90670 90701 90703 90706 90710 90712 90713 90715 90716 90717 90723 90744 90745 90746 90747 90755 90802 90804 90805 90806 90807 90808 90810 90813 90814 90815 90831 90840 90895 91709 91710 91715 91730 91743 91744 91745 91748 91752 91761 91762 91763 91764 91765 91766 91786 91788 91789 91792 92335 92337 92509 92821 92822 92833 92835

 images, videos and info courtesy of LACMA and reuters

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Write by: Arek - Tuesday, June 26, 2012