The steel sculpture whirls upward, towering more than two stories tall. Observed at the right angles in the right light, a violin and guitar reveal themselves. “Harmonic Ascension,” the new centerpiece of the Las Vegas Civic Center &Plaza, is the work of artist Cliff Garten and his Los Angeles Cliff Garten Studio.
“I wanted something that was dynamic and celebratory, so the piece is comprised of two instruments, which are hidden inside of it,” he said in a phone interview. “They spiral up to create their transformation and create another form that looks like a dancing figure.” Garten and his team were in Las Vegas this week, finishing the exhibit’s installation before Las Vegas publicly celebrated a lighting and dedication Thursday night.
“This sculpture is the finishing touch for the Las Vegas Civic Center,” Mayor Shelley Berkley said in a news release. “It will be an exciting addition to downtown and one of our must-see public art locations.” The city commissioned the 25-foot tall piece of art at a cost of $923,000. A spokesperson said that the project dates back several years, adding that installing it always was part of the plans for the $190 million development completed in September.
Formally known as Las Vegas Civic Center and Carolyn G. Goodman Plaza, the area sits across from City Hall at 495 S. Main St. It doubled the government center’s footprint for centralized operations, and provided a public grassy space for live entertainment and other festival-like events. The city said Harmonic Ascension reflects the city’s civic core. “The sculpture functions as both landmark and social framework, structuring movement, gathering and interaction,” according to a news release. Added the city: “Rather than serving as decoration, the work organizes the spatial and social dynamics of the plaza, supporting everyday use as well as public events.”
Garten, recipient of numerous fellowships from institutions, including the National Endowment of the Arts, said work on the Las Vegas project began about three years ago. The award-winning artist is a leader in the “landscape sculpture” movement, and his previous pieces design urban spaces, plazas and memorials throughout the U.S. and Canada. Harmonic Ascension, part of Garten’s “Luminous Bodies” series, comprises plates and hundreds of feet of thin stainless steel rods. The piece required “hundreds and hundreds” of welds, he noted.
It was designed to hold up to wear and tear, Garten said. “It’s a real high point in the development of this series of sculptures,” said Garten, adding that it’s his most complex to date. Designs were sketched, digitally 3D-modeled and then printed at scale, he said. There were more than 20 iterations before the final piece was completed. Natural and artificial nighttime lighting at the plaza make it come to life, Garten said. A complex transportation process involved cranes and road permits, he noted. Garten began his art journey at age 17 and initially studied and worked with ceramics.
“At a certain point I realized that if I wanted to work in public space at a large scale, I would have to change. … it meant mastering other mediums,” he said. He now also specializes in metals like bronze, stainless steel and aluminum. Garten said he’s happy to be done with Harmonic Ascension. “So far the reactions have been so positive,” he said.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.