In 1972, land artist Michael Heizer moved into a trailer in Nevada’s remote Garden Valley to begin working on a monument called “Complex One.” Almost half a century later, the now-complete monument is part of a larger mega sculpture called “City,” which is slated to open to visitors on 2 September. Running a mile and a half long and half a mile wide, “City” is a vast, enigmatic gesamtkunstwerk (“total work of art”) that recalls both the Great Basin’s sprawling nature and the subsequent human-made destruction foisted upon it. In some areas, the installation (which took $40 million to build) resembles a bomb shelter, evoking the fallout from nuclear detonations done in the area during the ’50s and ’60s. The project also honors the materials of the region through the soil and rocks that make up the installation. Aside from locals who are able to visit for free, admission (up to six are allowed per day) costs up to $150 and entails being picked up at a nearby town and dropped back before dark. Learn more at The New York Times.
Image courtesy of Todd Heisler