The Aerial Gallery is taking art above ground in downtown with the official unveiling and dedication of Ivan Brunetti's exhibit Thirst on Thursday.
The Chicago-based artist's bright graphics will appear on 50 banners displayed above the 10 blocks running from downtown's Arts District to Las Vegas City Hall, 400 Stewart Ave.
"That's a mile of artwork," said Richard Hooker, senior cultural specialist for Las Vegas' Office of Cultural Affairs. "More than 30,000 cars a day drive down the boulevard. I've always felt it was a wonderful way for artists to have their work shown."
Suspended on 50 light poles above street level, the gallery elevates the presence of artists and of public art in downtown, Hooker said.
As many as 125 local artists have had work featured along the Las Vegas Boulevard route.
The open-air gallery was started by Hooker eight years ago as a streetscape enhancement project. It was done through the city's Cultural Division as a creative means to make use of the light poles that flanked either side of the street after a downtown redevelopment project placed new lighting within the landscaped medians that run the length of Las Vegas Boulevard.
This year marks the first time that a call went out internationally to commission one featured artist to create a themed work. This year also officially marks the project's move from streetscape enhancement to public art project, as the Las Vegas Arts Commission, acting in partnership with the Office of Cultural Affairs, will head this and future exhibits.
Project coordinator Michael Oglivie recommended that gallery-goers in their cars or on foot "go down one side and go back the other. That way you take in all of Brunetti's images."
Following the theme of thirst, depictions of water in Brunetti's exhibit will glow as night falls, according to Oglivie.
"And the work, all of the 50 pieces together, tell a story," he said.
Having his original art shown large across the Las Vegas skyline will be a new experience, said Brunetti, who as a cartoonist and illustrator is more accustomed to seeing his ideas made manifest in smaller panels, such as on a cover he did for an edition of the New Yorker, or his cartoons and illustrations for Spin, Entertainment Weekly and Mother Jones magazines.
"I had to rethink my cartoon and design style and draw tall images where my style is very horizontal," Brunetti said. "I'm used to my work in print, so seeing something of mine suspended on a banner will be different."
Each image on a given banner contributes to a narrative. Each narrative moment features, or is connected to, ordinary, everyday vessels that quench thirst.
"The vessels can be either metaphorical or physical," Brunetti said. "There are different types of thirst. There's the thirst for knowledge. Desire. I wanted the story to be subliminal. I didn't want to rely on words. I wanted the viewer to be able to absorb the story quickly, visually."
The bright yellows and reds of the work are influenced by the comics of the '20s and '30s, Brunetti said. Viewers may recognize a prominent city official appearing at a pivotal moment in the visual narrative as the panels end.
"The story has the city as its backdrop. You want to include places and people that are familiar. I hope he has a sense of humor," said Brunetti.
The project dedication ceremony, officiated by Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday on Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street, followed by an artist's reception from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the Downtown Cocktail Room, 111 Las Vegas Blvd. South.
As a precursor to the Aerial Gallery opening, Brunetti will lecture at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at UNLV, 4505 Maryland Parkway, inside Room 257 of the Alta Ham Fine Arts Building.
For more information, call 229-6844 or visit www.lvarts commission.com.
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