Triple Aught Foundation has announced that City, Michael Heizer’s vast installation in the Nevada desert, is finally complete after more than 50 years.
More than half a century in the making, City is made up of “shaped mounds and depressions made of compacted dirt, rock, and concrete”, according to a release. The installation is more than a mile and a half long.
Triple Aught Foundation, a non-profit established in 1998 to oversee City, has announced that the open-air artwork will start to accept visitors from 2 September by reservation only.
Elaine Wynn, Triple Aught Foundation board member, described City as “one of the most magnificent and monumental artworks ever created”.
Heizer, who started to build City in the early 1970s, is known for creating huge outdoor earthwork sculptures and for his work with rock, concrete and steel.
Visitors from the public by reservation only
Construction was originally funded by Heizer. He was eventually joined by individuals and institutions including art collector Virginia Dwan, the Dia Art Foundation and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
The Triple Aught Foundation owns and manages City. It will be under the custodianship of a coalition of institutions across the US.
These are the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas, the Glenstone Museum in Maryland, LACMA in California, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Dwan said Heizer is “one of the greatest innovators of our time”.
“It is extraordinary that he has completed one of the most important artworks of this century, over decades in the making, and I have been fortunate enough to witness this transformative sculptural intervention from the very beginning.”
“Over the years I would sometimes compare Michael Heizer’s City project to some of the most important ancient monuments and cities,” said LACMA director and CEO Michael Govan. “But now I only compare it to itself.”
Emily Wei Rales, co-founder and director of the Glenstone Museum said Heizer’s “monumental sculptures have been an essential part of Glenstone’s visitor experience”.
“We are now deeply gratified to join in this new coalition, whose cross-country, multi-institutional nature is testament to the importance of the City.”
“Michael Heizer has spoken brilliantly and movingly about conceiving the City as an American creation, possible only within this terrain,” said Olivia Walton, board chairperson of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
Triple Aught Foundation arranges visits to City by advance reservation only. Reservations for 2022 can be requested for dates between 2 September and 1 November.
Images: Triple Aught Foundation
