Completing an artist residency in a large resort on the Las
Vegas Strip has definitely been one of the most interesting art experiences to
date. The P3Studio residency is a partnership between The Cosmopolitan of LasVegas and Art Production Fund in New York City. The residency program is
designed to provide guests with an interactive art experience, so there is
always a participatory element to each project and artists change monthly.
When I open the studio doors to
visitors for the first time on Wednesday, December 11, I am not sure exactly what
to expect. I have produced two previous audience-participation collage projects
– the first took place over a few hours at the London Biennale in Nevada
satellite project and the second over a few days at the Life is Beautiful Festival.
However, the House of Paper Birds project at The Cosmopolitan spans a few
weeks, and at the end of the residency period, I estimate that visitors will
have completed two collage panels inspired by the fruit of the Joshua Tree and
a large reverse-glass window collage where bird-women reign over a desert
landscape. I provide a starting point for each of the works, then with a little
guidance, the visitors do the rest.
I hope that during the process,
visitors will also enjoy the opportunity to browse a range of fashion,
lifestyle and art magazines in the adjoining Reading Room. This area is inspired
by the MOCA Grand Avenue Reading Room in Los Angeles and is designed for me by
Patina Décor. I also envision conversations taking place around the large
studio table amongst friends old and new, as visitors source collage material
from the stacks of magazines.
As it happens, my hopes for
cultural interchange are exceeded. The P3Studio visitors are of all ages and
from all over the states, with many from other countries also. Christmas is
fun. I Skype with family in New Zealand on our Christmas Eve, and spend
Christmas Day in the studio meeting many family groups who are enjoying the
bright lights and festive events on the Strip. There are little toddlers who
paste paper strips onto the window collage and charm me by blowing me kisses.
There are teenagers who talk about their love of art and leave me little drawings.
Some people stay for a few minutes, some stay for an hour or more. And at the
end of the residency, the collaborative collage works seem to almost vibrate with
the convergence of their collective energy.
I am joined in the weekends by invited
special guests who bring elements of the House of Paper Birds to life; artist
Shelbi Schroeder appears as an aloof black swan watching us watching her,
burlesque entertainer Lou Lou Roxy demonstrates the skilled techniques of the fan
dance, fashion designer Mina Kahn exemplifies the exotic in her feathered
creations on models Kathy C Liu and Tarah Una Robinson, and
entertainer/fashionista Devi Amuro stages an intergalactic fashion invasion of
the Reading Room with models Starza and Lashonza Ferguson.
In the same way that collage combines disparate
elements and creates something fresh, the residency has brought together my
favorite aspects of Las Vegas – fashion, flamboyance, performance and the
dramatic desert environment – and created a singular experience within the
wider cultural experience of The Cosmopolitan itself. In addition to the
residency program, The Cosmopolitan curates the public art program Pause, also
in partnership with Art Production Fund, where moving image works by artists
such as Tracey Emin, TJ Wilcox and Laurie Simmons periodically take over the
large-scale LED signs. The Cosmopolitan brings a wealth of contemporary visual art
to Las Vegas, while incorporating local artists into the mix and offering
visitors the opportunity to participate in building this creative culture. The
positive energy I experienced in this process is something that will always
stay with me.
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