Michael Heizer's "City" may not glow in the dark

Apparently artist Michael Heizer will not be bulldozing "City," the mammoth Earthwork -- seen in a satellite image above -- that he has been building in the remote Nevada desert for nearly 40 years. In 2004, the Las Vegas Mercury reported that Heizer was concerned about federal government plans to construct a nuclear waste dump at Nevada's Yucca Mountain. That meant the so-called Caliente Corridor -- a rail line to haul the radioactive waste -- would skirt the edge of "City" and its 30-acre sprawl:

[Heizer] told his neighbors that if the Caliente Corridor becomes reality, he will use his bulldozers to completely bury the "City" project and that he will walk away from it ... .

Now the Associated Press is reporting that President Obama's first budget red-pencils nearly all funding for the Yucca Mountain dump. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada described the move as a "significant victory" in efforts to block the toxic waste site.

The reclusive artist has mostly kept "City" under wraps. Additional pictures of the project, which is said to include massive structures whose origins came from the artist's visit to the Mayan temples at Chichen Itza, Mexico, can be found here. Another Google aerial map is here.

-- Christopher Knight

Photo: Google Maps

Comments

This is not art. it is a monument to its creator, who is destroying delicate desert land, for absolutely no reason but vanity. A pyramid, a Mausoleum as has become so common these days in vanity museums built across the nation. With nothing worthwile to put in them. Eli Broad the chief among them, what waste and conspicuous consumption, for what? Only Society people use them for social events, as they are of no use or relevance to 99% of humanity. Its not Art at all.

What a waste of resources, energy, destructive intent in land that will never recover from his grandiose designs. And of no use to humanity, except a small cadre of self absored and self styled elitists. The rest of us just know you as dumb and dumber. Possibly the Dumbest, in competition with Bush. This wastefulness must end, the future belongs to the most effiicient, and those concerned with US, and We, not I and Me. Which this last monument to the Age of Excess and Meism is.

it is over. the Contempt era of "art" is dead. Rest in hell. 1962-2008

Imperial Clothing Donald Frazell

art collegia delenda est

[Christopher Knight]

Passing judgment on a work of art one has not seen is irresponsible. Lazy, too.

To go there would be to waste huge amounts of gas, and tear up the local ecosystem. To support such waste when art can be create with a piece of wood is complete and total decadence.

The Age of Excess is over, these pyramids to Mans vanity must end. This is not about US, its about personal immortality, go give some money to an art institution and get your name on the wall, but this garbage is just that, trash despoiling out lands.

You want Nature? Go to Yosemite, go hiking if you have the strength, up to Nevada falls, or the top of HalfDome. take the bus in so you dont pollute. THAT is Appreciating life on Earth, this is arrogant despoiling of the land for vanity. Buy a book of Ansel Adams photographs, that did a million times more than this literal garbage in saving lands in the West. And is Art. Of Mankind, Nature and God. That is creative Art.

art collegia delenda est

[gigi]

Given the amount of actual environmental destruction being done in the name of commerce and capitalism, and moreover the whole context of Yucca Mountain (radiation / storage), railing against an artist's earthwork is laughable. Are you being Ironic?

[Donald Frazell]

Not at all. Tha has purpose and useful to mankind, this is compltelys selfish and a monument to one man and his silly followrs. Just looked at his site, absurd is the correct term. Grandiose its manifiestation. The very antithesis of being Green or environmental.

When Native Americans killed an animal, almost all neolithic peoples did this, they thank the creature for its sacrifice, and god for its use. Then did not waste it, but took what was needed. This is the opposite, destroys the land, the desert does not regenerate easily, and certainly wil not after this. It is a monument to one person, not art, not of mankind. But refective of the arrogance and waste of the Age of Excess, that we are now leaving behind.

The future belongs to the most effieicent, this is a total waste of materials, energy, and land. With no purpose, which is the essence of Creative art. It is strictly about one man, and the silly ideas he shared with a small group of hippy pseudo-intellectuals, no one more self absorbed than a hippy, or wasteful of the earth. Watch southpark, they nailed em. The come like locusts, rape the land, leave their waste, and move on in search of more hedonistic, selfish pleasure.

art collegia delenda est

to gigi who posted March 02, 2009 at 11:45 AM

so Heizer gets a pass due to the smaller scale of his personal destruction compared to corporations? what are you saying?

[lmth]

Well that is funny that you are in this site commenting about wasting time and resources. This man is not tearing down trees or burning paper. Hell, he is not even creating the next Burning Man festival. If you look at the impact of Earth art to the US, it has become significant in creating an interest in exploring the otherwise dead areas of our country. These do not even mean tourists, but academics, artists, students, and other random people who may be curious about these huge monumental sites that "mean nothing" or do not function as a normal art piece or location. If you are disregarding the value of this site because you think it is an homage to the creator himself, then I think you are mistaken because there are actually thousands of people who devote their lives to seeing and celebrating more reclusive artists who do not create art for the sake of selling or buying, but incorporate the land, the art, the open space. This is not some corporate giant, but someone who has found a way to get funding from organizations that support individual artists who create these projects for the public. These are definitely not nearly as destructive as other constructions -- may it be buildings of gentrifications or other historical demolitions. He is creating something of the desert and not regrouping hundreds of people just for this purpose. Please read a book about historic preservation and imagine what all the people like you said about the sites when they first started building it. I can imagine it being be similar: "waste of time." It's time to get in tune with culture. It's not just about eating and sleeping and paying your debt, you know. There is also such a thing as ideology and creation.

[Donald Frazell]

"thousands' of artistes are not people, not of the people, by the people, for the people. They are for themselves. And take no responsibility, as you dont. The Desert is not "dead". But a delcate ecosytem, totally destroyed on a massive scale for one fools dreams of grandeur. It is absurdist entertainment for the "elite".

If only a few thousand spoiled people view this, and none have as it is secretive, going out there far away from society wasting precious fuels for nothing is not Art. Art is something we live with,it defines a culture, who We are, not I. It explores nature, understanding what it is and how we are a part of it, not destroys it building huge ramps and platforms attempting to be a pharoah or Myan king, with no life to it. No one lives there, no inteeractions between humans, living life in all its variety, it is whats dead. Not the desert, which is a place of life, or in this case, was. Art searches for meaning, for god. What is eternal, and gives lif purpose. This has none.

the Age of Excess is over. Conspicuous consuption complete. Meism is dead. It is about We. Us, Nature, and God. Art has been dead for fifty years, buried under the desires of an academic system in search of more and more money, and gulible students to pay One is born every minute.

Creative Art is needed again, we must get back to hwat is important in life. Playtime is over. Lets get to work

art collegia delenda est

[lmth]

Do tell me, Donald, do you drive to get work? Millions of people do so everyday to work for companies, individuals, etc. because it is their work. You cannot tell me that the majority of society contributes to meaningful, compassionate, delicate advocacy of the earth. NO, most people work for corporations of some sort whose work values money and capitalistic endeavors.

My point is that this is Michael Heizer's work. He works for himself and not a big corporation. There is no profit involved. Yes, he is using gas and resources to build his dream, but hey, at least he is not doing it at the expense of other humans and animals.

I never claimed that the desert is dead, but if you are going to argue that it is delicate and that it is being destroyed on a massive scale, maybe you should look around. Heizer touches .01/1000000000000000000 of the land, and at this moment you are wasting electronic resources trying to offend his project, as am I trying to defend it.

It doesn't make any sense that you should consider his work for the "elite." It is not in a museum, nor is it an art fair that charges money to get in. Please have a clue. And your so-called "contempt era of art" isn't dead. What does that even mean?

[Donald Frazell]

You artistes are in contempt of humanity, museums are great as they give easy access to everyone, they are in major cities, and should be free or have free nights and days for students and "regular" folks. And often get busloads of kids, except at sterile "institutions " like tMoCA.

Uh, those coorporations and jobs are what feed America and builds it, what does this have to do with anything? Get a job, and stop your contempt for the working man. You are not above anyone, actually at the pasement of the pyrmaid, a parasite. leeching offf the energy created by those who do work. Contempt orary art is just a Neverland for those who never want to grow up, it is irrelevant ot the rest of humanity, never in the history of man has so much monies been poured into art, with so little to show for it. Because it is a "community", of leeches. Art is changing, time to grow up.

art collegia delenda est

[JamesD]

Thanks for the useful info. It's so interesting

[lmth]

i forgot about this thread for a second. i still believe that it is very bad taste to interpret this sort of land work as elitist and wasteful. What is "irrelevant" and quite honestly ironic are the those who critique artists such as Heizer expending hours on energy spent on the computer. what are you defending exactly, donald? land? preservation of land? because the last time i checked, you didn't have an argument..

[jake]

Well after reading all these post I am moved to say something.

I am a young artist, and have recently come to adore the works of Michael Heizer, Robert Smithson, Nancy Holt and many other "land" artists.

To think only of the immediate impact of the work is short sighted. Perhaps there were those who disagreed with the building of the pyramids in ancient Egypt, but how marvelous they are to us today. How they provoke the imagination...........

In a world of ever decreasing tactility how awesome it is to view a work that overwhelms the body, instead of simply filling the eye.

I don;t think that artist moves from media to simply satisfy the ego. There are ideas in architecture that cannot be expressed in painting. There are concepts of motion that can be expressed only in film, and not in architecture etc. etc.

I don;t think beieve the desired endpoint is to expressi contempt of "the working man", How hard and overwhelming a task this all must be....who could possibly be harder working than Michael Heizer."

I may never be able to afford to see this work in person, just as I may not see the Taj Mahal, or regrettably, never had a chance to view Frank Lloyd Wright's imperial hotel in Tokyo, but how fascinating that they can be conceived and carried though to completion.

[Matt]

For the critics... The Land Art movement was largely about entropy. This often included references to mankinds small place in the natural realm and sometimes his disconnection from it. It does not necessarilly reinforce "hippie" sentiments. A lot of the work also took place through a time when human existence was facing annihilation. Multiple great civilizations have come and gone with nothing left but their monuments. To me Heizer's City is a reflective monument to our civilization, which ultimately is no different than the Egyptians, Romans, or Mayans. The only constant is nature. No the work isn't literally reducing carbon monoxide or recycling your garbage. These sorts of naivity won't save our society or set it in 100% balance with the Earth. This type of art only raises thought to man's place within a natural order of things.

And who is to say that art can not destroy?