Magic Hour, The: The Convergence of Art and Las Vegas

Is Las Vegas, the capital of the Western entertainment complex, also set to become the capital of art? A large number of artists live there or visit often, Venice was partially reconstructed there, and the Bellagio resort and casino house an art collection that includes El Grecos and Picassos promoted as if they were Frank Sinatra or the Beach Boys. At this historic moment, art is losing the visionary power to which it used to lay claim and is instead drawing closer to the forms of the entertainment industry, from lifestyle and game shows to Hollywood cinema and music videos. In a paradoxical turn of events, the society of the spectacle has become a reality and Las Vegas is becoming the capital of the future culture industry. Dave Hickey and art historian Libby Lumpkin moved to Las Vegas in the early 90s. For Hickey, the Strip has served as a platform for his critique of the elitist and purist structure of values within the art world. In 1992, Denise Scott Brown, Robert Venturi, and Steven Izenour published Learning from Las Vegas, providing a seminal and radical reevaluation of the vernacular architecture of what was then one of America's most culturally neglected cities.