Situated in the heart of Las Vegas’ City Center, in the middle of many beautifully designed skyscrapers, is a sort of traffic jam. Or a “boat jam”, if you wish. It’s an unusual work of art crafted by Nancy Rubins and known as “Big Edge”. Like something you might imagine seeing at the bottom of a waterfall that has surprised dozens of boaters.
“Big Edge” is situated in front of the Vdara Hotel and Spa, between the Monte Carlo and Bellagio casinos, and is best seen from its elevated circular drive (although its not visible from The Strip). Two hundred boats, many canoes but with some flat bottom boats and rowboats, are incorporated into this unusual piece. Given the strong desert winds, this seemingly haphazard arrangement of boats actually has to be firmly secured to poles, each other and metal braces and supports. It’s a very colorful and interesting exhibit, some having likened it to a metal flower. Many who live in Vegas don’t even know it’s there.
Stunning…and hard to imagine a better place for it.
Curious: how big is it? In the close-up I get the impression they could be full-size boats?
Some “modern art” leaves me cold but that image is thought provoking and lets the mind wander – as it has yours !
Nice piece DrF !
Yes, they are all full size boats. Say an average of 4 meters (13 ft) each?
Vegas is becoming a great place to see modern art.
The word “audacious” comes to mind and, I think, appropriately. I think it’s always been one of Art’s jobs to make the viewer’s say “What the hell?”, and public art of this scale especially. It makes one want to meet the person whose mind conceived it. Good work, Nancy Rubins. (“crafted” indeed, DrF.)