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Thursday, January 01, 2004 Art: Pop go prints
By F. Andrew Taylor
The bridge is becoming the latest and greatest architectural feature in Las Vegas. Initially bridges on the Strip merely crossed roads and tried to keep drunk mooks from being pinwheeled into the sky by fast-moving Miatas. Now the casino overlords have gone back to the old London Bridge model, where the bridge is not just a route from point A to B, but valuable retail space. In the future, I suspect we'll be seeing a lot of this sort of thing as tourists are encouraged to travel from one casino to the next without the inconvenience of being flash-fried by our blazing desert summers. The art world benefits because the simpler bridges prove to be effective art venues, while the retail bridge-plexes are likely gallery sites. The latest of these is the Godt-Cleary Gallery, at Mandalay Place, which links Mandalay Bay to the Luxor. The space is well-lighted and relatively sparsely furnished. The front half of the space features objects d'art by well-known artists. There are quite a few expensive tea sets there, for instance. The rear is dedicated to the gallery's current exhibit, Ed Ruscha: Prints 1969-2003. Ruscha is an artist whose work can be primarily categorized as pop. He never achieved the brand-name recognition of Warhol or Lichtenstein, but created a steady body of constantly evolving work. His work is on display in museums worldwide, and even his prints are priced beyond the means of all but the most serious art collector. The prices in this show range from $1,500 to $65,000. There is a score or so of his pieces on display with more available to view upon request. The work itself is thought-provoking and deceptively simple. There are photographs of parking lots viewed from above, which display the common objects' strange geometric beauty. Several of the pieces juxtapose words on simple graphic backgrounds, transforming common phrases to art with deep, mysterious meaning. There is a quartet of lithographs of a Standard gas station. The building is portrayed in clean graphic lines, with the building neatly bisecting the picture plane. The same basic image is repeated in all four prints with variations of color and detail. What's particularly interesting for locals is this show is closer to the slick "return to beauty" movement that has seen some success here. If you enjoy these works, but find the prices are out of your range, tomorrow's Ruschas may very well be displaying their work here. Through Jan. 15 Godt-Cleary Gallery Mandalay Place; 3930 Las Vegas Blvd. South 632-9378 |
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