Between a rock and a hard place
Michael Heizer’s “Levitated Mass,” the commissioned sculpture at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gives visitors the chance to walk underneath a 340-ton granite boulder. The sculpture opens to the public on June 24. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
“Levitated Mass” is a 456-foot-long concrete slot, over which sits a 340-ton granite boulder. As visitors walk through the slot, the pathway descends to 15 feet in depth, running underneath the boulder before going back up. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Artist Michael Heizer, 67, conceived the work 43 years ago. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
The pyramidal stone has been cut across the bottom to fit heavily ribbed steel shelves. Thick bolts anchor it in place. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
A notched gray channel of polished concrete slices 456 feet across an empty field at LACMA. The channel, descending to a depth of 15 feet, is a two-rail pedestal for the huge stone megalith, which is bolted to steel shelves affixed to the center of each side wall. The path slopes gently down, inviting passage. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Artist Michael Heizer signed his name along with his dog’s paw print in a plaque located next to his “Levitated Mass.” (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
