UNLV art supporters, from left, front row, Adam Morey, Mary Warner, Daniel Sanchez, second row, Wendy Reveck, Erin Stellmon and Danielle Kelly wear tin foil hats at the dedication of Stephen Hendee's "Monument to the Simulacrum." Photos by Marlene Karas/VIEW
Stephen Hendee stands in front of his sculpture "Monument to the Simulacrum," which sits on top of the city of Las Vegas' Centennial Time Capsule in Centennial Plaza at 4th Street and Lewis Avenue.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman prepares to cut the ribbon at the dedication of "Monument to the Simulacrum" with a pocket knife on loan from an audience member, while artist Stephen Hendee holds a pair of dull ceremonial scissors.
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Artist and UNLV assistant art professor Stephen Hendee's first public sculpture, "Monument to the Simulacrum," sits atop the cement resting place of the city of Las Vegas' Centennial Time Capsule in Centennial Plaza at 4th Street and Lewis Avenue, and is designed to be moved when the capsule is opened in 2105.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese joined Hendee and city Arts Commissioner Louisa McDonald in the plaza for a dedication of Hendee's 12-foot-tall, angular shell of quarter-inch stainless steel, May 14.
"We are creating an atmosphere here that is going to redefine the way we think of ourselves," said Goodman of the city's cultural progress. He praised the sculpture and said he expected it to provoke controversy. Goodman said art should provoke criticism. He also admitted he didn't totally understand the explanation of the work, except that he had learned a simulacrum was "the actualization of an ideal state."
Hendee took to the mic next and after thanking many people -- including the city of Las Vegas and the Centennial Commission for commissioning the sculpture -- he described it as "a marker for what Las Vegas is, a symbol of success against apparent odds."
Applied mathematician Robert Phillips next addressed the small audience as a representative of the Southwest Archipelago, a group specializing in opening time capsules centuries from now. He explained that, while nothing of value or interest has ever been found inside a time capsule, he continues to unearth them in the hope that someday something valuable will be found.
A group of Hendee's students and faculty supporters attended the dedication in tinfoil party hats. Student Erin Stellman explained the hats were meant to appear futuristic and make the ribbon cutting into more of an event.
Hendee explained later, the vector geometry of "Monument to the Simulacrum's" lines refers to the patently synthetic nature of the city of Las Vegas, while its overall craggy form is reflective of the surrounding landscape. He designed its sharp features to allow for good rain water runoff -- preparing it for any climate change the future might bring. He said he also hopes the art itself will stand up to the passage of time, and that he made it with populist intentions to be something for which future Las Vegans can be proud.
Originally from Santa Monica, Calif., Hendee got his bachelor of fine arts degree from the San Francisco Art Institute and his master of fine arts from Stanford University. He's shown his work in solo exhibitions from San Francisco to New York City.
The artist more often molds his art using temporary materials such as plastic, tape and artful lighting to create his geometrical contemporary sculptures and environments. Hendee said he had long wanted to do something more permanent, but wasn't able to before the commission provided him with funding.
The project, however, still could not have been executed without the fabrication work of Themeing Solutions Inc. The North Las Vegas company creates themed environments for casinos. This is the first time the company has produced anything meant to survive a century.
Las Vegas was a great inspiration to the philosopher Jean Baudrillard, who died in March. He called the city "hyperreal" in his writings on modern American culture.
And Baudrillard, in turn, inspired Hendee, who said, "he was a very important person for me to read." Baudrillard coined the term "simulacrum" in his writings.
In Hendee's artist's statement, he wrote, "The term 'Desert of the Real' that [Baudrillard] coined would not have been if Las Vegas didn't inhabit that space physically and philosophically."
A plaque is being prepared to dedicate "Monument to the Simulacrum" to Baudrillard. It should be up within a month. Hendee said, "Upon his passing, this is a good opportunity to honor him in a place that has benefitted culturally from his observations about it."
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