Arts Notes: ‘Midas Drowned’ has golden touch

Friday, Jan. 13, 2006 | 9:14 a.m.

In Greek mythology, King Midas' ability to turn everything he touched to gold was inevitably his downfall.

It is through the myth of Midas that sculptor Stephen Hendee looks at Las Vegas' excess in "Midas Drowned," an installation work that opens Tuesday at UNLV's Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery.

Known for his otherwordly, or celestial, works, Hendee's "Midas Drowned" combines his large-scale translucent sculptures with sound generated from instruments of his creation.

The installation, representing media and entertainment, is a direct correlation between Midas and Las Vegas. But the exhibit, Hendee said, is not so much a literal translation as it is a utilization of the visual language of entertainment as he sees it.

"I like the allegory behind it," Hendee, 38, said Wednesday while building the installation. "Las Vegas excess, entertainment. It all seems to fit together."

The gallery, often a well-lit space, has been transformed into a dimly lit area that highlights the glow of Hendee's early Modernist-like pieces: a true-to-scale small stage and backdrop, a news anchor's desk and a bar.

The work, created from corrugated plastic and bold black tape used to create geometric lines, exudes a meditative quietness, a tendency, Hendee said, that is more a reflection of the contemplative nature of abstraction than intention.

"When you're relieved of realism, there are so many places to go," Hendee said. "To allow viewers to free associate in that way, it can be really quiet."

On Jan. 27, "Midas Drowned" will become a full manifestation of itself when Hendee and two others perform the three 42-inch stringed instruments that are played using a bow. The low heavy sound will be amplified and reflective of death-metal music. After the performance, "Midas Drowned" will return to its static nature.

Using sound isn't new for Hendee, whose mostly temporary work is shown throughout the country, including at the New Britain Museum of American Art, but moving to Las Vegas, he said, has changed the idea of the kind of objects he wants to build.

Prior installations, he said, were "all-encompassing tunnel-like environments" where people explore and navigate a space.

"In New York, describing the ephemeral qualities of nature seemed real appropriate. Here, because there is no history, it's driving more closely toward things that have a reality, whether by resembling physical things in the world or permanent things."

Originally from Southern California, the artist has lived in New Jersey and San Francisco and worked in various cities throughout the United States.

Hendee started working with translucent sculptures in the mid- to late-1990s when he abandoned his work with cardboard for material that seemed more "precious."

In March, Hendee, who was selected to build the Las Vegas time capsule, will collaborate with Phoebe Washburn at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Mo., to create two site-specific installations conjoined by a pingpong arena, in which visitors can view or play the game of pingpong.

"Sculpture pertains to a historical lineage of materials," Hendee said. "I don't think the ideas I have have that historical value. They are essentially media space, digital reality.

"The illuminosity projects it into a different space ... From a strictly theoretical point I'm questioning whether these are objects at all or if they're virtual manifestations."

That philosophy blends well with the Las Vegas-inspired work in "Midas Drowned."

"There is a suggestion that maybe Las Vegas is virtual in that way and it's hard to know how long it will last," Hendee said.

"Midas Drowned" will be on display through Feb. 20. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The Jan. 27 reception will include a 6:30 p.m. artist talk. Admission is free.

'Indie Pendent' film

Local movie makers from Vision Dynamics Entertainment are re-releasing their third feature-length film, "Indie Pendent," which premiered in July at the Palms.

"We've cut it down, rearranged the story and some of the scenes to come up with a surprise ending," said Kelly Schwarze, director and co-producer of "The Indie Pendant." "We wanted to make it a little more edgier, a little faster."

The action comedy, based on the life of an independent filmmaker struggling with the machine of Hollywood, will be shown at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road.

"Overall, it's a caper film," Schwarze said. "It runs along the hot topic of Internet piracy, and Hollywood is working so hard to protect its films. This independent filmmaker uses that to his advantage to get something he wants from the studio."

VDE is trying to find a distributor for the movie and aiming toward the overseas market.

"The ultimate goal is to sell the film to make our money back, but also to go gracefully into the next project," Schwarze said.

Admission to "The Indie Pendent" is free. For more information, visit the Web site www.vdefilms.com.

Family concert

A $75,000 grant from the Hearst Foundation has allowed the Las Vegas Philharmonic to lower its prices for this weekend's family concert at Artemus Ham Hall.

"From Mozart to the Movies: A Family Tour Through the Wonders of Music," presented at 7 p.m. Saturday, features works by Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Berlioz, as well as an encore presentation of associate conductor Richard McGee's "Las Vegas Rhapsody."

Tickets are $10; $25 for four. Children ages 5 and under are admitted free. Call 895-2787.

Kristen Peterson can be reached at 259-2317 or at kristen@lasvegassun.com