Ground Zero, (sculpture).

Ground Zero, (sculpture).

Maxwell, William Jackson, 1947- , sculptor.

Ground Zero, (sculpture).

Commissioned 1990. 1993. Dedicated June 28, 1993.

Digital Reference:

Stainless steel, multicolored plexiglass strips and projected images.

Approx. H. 180 ft. x W. 180 ft.

Multicolored linear forms affixed to the white marble facade of a building. A reflecting pool curves around the front of the facade and moving projected images appear on the face after dark. The strips are arranged into broken concentric half-circles radiating out from a point at the middle of the bottom edge of the building. The pattern is designed to suggest a radar screen. Individually, the strips form shapes and images indigenous to Nevada, such as Indian culture, desert flora and fauna, and nuclear images. These shapes are repeated in the reflecting pool by computer-controlled valves which create negative images in the surface of the water. At night, projected images of snakes, scorpions, lizards and coyotes appear from the surface of the water and move slowly up the facade before disappearing.

Abstract -- Geometric

Allegory -- Place -- Nevada

Ethnic -- Indian

Allegory -- Place -- Deserts

Animal -- Reptile -- Snake

Animal -- Reptile -- Lizard

Animal -- Insect -- Scorpion

Animal -- Coyote

Allegory -- Arts & Sciences -- Technology

Administered by City of Las Vegas, Arts Commission, 749 Veterans Memorial Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Formerly located City Hall, 400 Stewart Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada

Funded with a National Endowment for the Arts, Art in Public Places grant of $25,000 given in 1990 to the City of Las Vegas, Cultural and Community Affairs Division. Commissioned by the City of Las Vegas in 1990 for $100,000. Artwork was selected by the Las Vegas Arts Commission out of 170 entries in a nationwide competition, and was the commission's first public art project. The sculpture is designed to work with natural elements. In the sunlight, the shapes cast shadows on the building and are reflected in the water. In the rain, the indentations in the sidewalk fill with water and become animal forms. The shapes are treated with flourspur (to make them glow) and are illuminated with mercury vapor lamps that are installed on the wall. Originally, the shapes were to be etched into the wall, but metal and plexiglass were used since there was a question as to whether the wall could withstand carving. In 1994, the fountain was removed due to malfunction and expense. IAS files include the text of a nearby plaque and related articles from the Las Vegas Review Journal, April 23, 1990, and June 10, 1994, and the Las Vegas Sun, June 28,1990.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Nevada survey, 1994.

Heritage Preservation SOS! survey of NEA Art in Public Places funded sculpture, 2002.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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