Kristen Peterson

Art Reporter

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Man saves '60s Vegas party house, fills it with treasures: Former county official ardent advocate of neighborhood preservation; Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012; Steve Evans has gone out for the evening. He’s meeting friends at Oscar’s steakhouse and shows us how to lock the door when we leave. Suddenly, we have the run of the place, and before we finally head out, we take one last look in amazement.
From showgirl to showcase: Terry Ritter's art sets the scene at McCarran's new terminal: Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012; Artist Terry Ritter gradually removed the furniture from her spacious living room and replaced it with three panels of a 50-foot canvas. Her mission was to create a painting that says Las Vegas like nothing else can: a stage scene of leggy ladies decked with ostrich feathers, jeweled neckwear and fan-shaped headpieces.
NYC artist brings his message of love to Cosmopolitan: Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012; It’s been an amusing and educational year inside the Cosmopolitan’s P3 Studio where visual artists spend a few weeks working on projects and visiting with tourists.
The hotel, which hands over the small space to select artists, has kept the experience acutely contemporary.
East Coast ballet's 'Nutcracker' has a little Las Vegas magic: Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011; When the Carolina Ballet saw ticket sales falling for the century-old holiday classic “The Nutcracker,” it came up with the audacious notion of ramping up the performance’s magic scenes by introducing real magic. So the ballet looked to Las Vegas for help, and the end result is a “Nutcracker” like no other.
More and more pet birds in need of new homes: Monday, Dec. 19, 2011; When Alex, an African Grey Parrot known to converse and vocally identify colors and objects, died in 2007, he garnered obituaries in national publications for his role in a 30-year study that examined intelligence in parrots.
Made in Las Vegas: Local holiday gifts you’ll love: Crave-worthy creations from Valley locals; Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011; You could hit the mall this December. Or, you could shop locally with stunning creations made right here in Las Vegas. Watch your wallet, though, because these items will make you want to spend.
Cuddly microbes and vinyl whimsy at Happy Panda Toys: Monday, Oct. 31, 2011; The newest business in the Arts District sells art, of course, but you can also purchase a set of Lightsaber chopsticks, Kidrobot toys, plush Giant Microbes (stuffed syphilis, anyone?) and a copy of the book “CBGB: Decades of Graffiti.”
Cindy Funkhouser's space celebrates her love of the odd and original: Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011; The last time we paid a professional visit to Cindy Funkhouser’s stylish pad was in 2003, four months after the antiques dealer started a little downtown arts festival called First Friday.
The beautiful, bleak world of the Flamingo Arroyo Trail: Monday, Oct. 17, 2011; We’re walking the Valley’s river, a combination sewer system and wildlife habitat that carries 150 million gallons of storm water and urban runoff through the wetlands and into Lake Mead every day.
Founder of the Zen Center of Las Vegas shares his journey: Monday, Oct. 3, 2011; Thom Pastor is the founder and abbot of the Zen Center of Las Vegas, a meditation and teaching space on East Harmon Avenue. When not in Las Vegas, he leads Zen retreats in Asia and North America, including Madison, Wisconsin, where he is guiding teacher for the Isthmus Zen Center. Sun sister publication Las Vegas Weekly spoke with Pastor – a dharma teacher since 1994 and musician who’s played with Tom Jones and Frank Sinatra – at the Zen Center, which recently completed its outdoor meditation garden with walking paths, an altar, bamboo trees and a turtle pond.
New curators are named for First Friday art: Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011; The new owners of the First Friday Las Vegas trademark are wasting no time raising the standards of the monthly downtown event, including the major ...
Knitter cozies up to yarnstorming project: Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011; Artist Diane Bush has a long history as a radical hippie, fighting the man, the war, the media and politics.
Vegas suburbia from the ’60s gets a revival: Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011; When developer Irwin Molasky built the Paradise Palms neighborhood along with the adjacent Boulevard mall in the 1960s, the question was “Who’s going to go way out there?” There wasn’t much happening beyond Eastern Avenue.
Las Vegas Weekly's Home & Design issue: Snapshot of a local couple's vintage digs: Courtney Mooney and Josh Rogers have a historic home with decor to match; Monday, Aug. 8, 2011; Courtney Mooney and Josh Rogers have a deep love for vintage kitsch and design, so it’s really no surprise when they answer the door to their 1950s ranch-style home with cocktails in hand and retro lounge music playing from speakers near the Rock-Ola jukebox.
Crowds fill the Arts District despite First Friday fair cancellation: Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011; Anyone who was around during the beginning of First Fridays likely remembers it as a quaint gathering for arts and culture.
Dear Zappos employee: Downtown tips for suburbanites on the move: Saturday, July 9, 2011; Now that you’re moving from the suburbs into downtown Las Vegas, you should know what’s in store for you psychologically.
Hot spots for getting back to nature in Southern Nevada: Friday, June 24, 2011; President Obama has declared June as Great Outdoors Month. So if you're looking to celebrate, southern Nevada has urban and suburban spots worthy of visiting for those dying to get outside in 100-plus temperatures, but have no cash for gas, are commuting by foot or bus passes.
Taking a glue gun to CityCenter: Wednesday, June 8, 2011; If the title of Justin Favela’s solo show, CountyCenter, doesn’t ring a bell, his work at the Clark County Government Center surely will—a silver river suspended, a large typewriter backspace key and panels featuring phrases.
A stripped-down introduction to the local burlesque scene from Las Vegas Weekly: Saturday, June 4, 2011; For years, the country’s top burlesque performers trekked to a goat farm in Helendale, Calif., where they’d dance poolside among friends under the desert sun. ...
The Rapture: A survival guide from Las Vegas Weekly: Saturday, May 21, 2011; Forget Harold Camping’s failed Rapture prediction of 1996. The Christian radio broadcaster says this time it’s for real. He’s predicted May 21, 2011, ...
Neon Boneyard Park still not quite open to public: Friday, May 13, 2011; Hold your joy.
Before anyone gets too excited about Thursday’s ribbon cutting and grand opening of the Neon Boneyard Park, keep in mind that the city’s new park isn’t actually open to the public. You’re gonna to have to wait a while. Bill Marion, board chair of the Neon Museum (for which the park was built), says the gated park will open for programming purposes, then hold regular hours when the Neon Boneyard Museum, which houses neon and other historic signs, opens next spring.
Serial killer art in Las Vegas creating controversy: Nonprofit groups divided over whether to accept funds from sale of John Wayne Gacy art; Tuesday, May 10, 2011; A national advocacy organization selected to receive money from the sale of serial killer John Wayne Gacy’s artwork by a Las Vegas gallery says it won’t accept proceeds from such an event, surprising one of its organizers who thought the group was part of the effort.
Nostalgia for neon remains, but light’s nearly out of fashion: Monday, April 18, 2011; For decades neon distinguished Las Vegas, in ways both garish and sublime.
Poets to read from their collaborative book 'Tragic Bitches': Thursday, March 24, 2011; Clear your Thursday night schedule and prepare for some mind-blowing performance poetry. Adelina Anthony, Dino Foxx and Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano ...
CAC's 'Blur' will make you rub your eyes: Sunday, March 20, 2011; The Contemporary Arts Center brings in some heavy hitters for its new multimedia exhibit, It’s all a Blur, and you’re really going to ...
For Droog, home is where the Lego buffet is: Friday, March 18, 2011; If you’ve wandered into Droog at the Cosmopolitan recently, you’ll likely have noticed a new piece of furniture: a mid-century, modern-style ...
Hey, buddy, you got a light?: Thursday, March 17, 2011; Nearly eight months after being installed downtown, the Gateway to the Arts District project is in its final phase. Crews are working on the late ...
Who lives there?: Amid a desert of beige homes, a flowery mansion has sprouted from the imagination of Nico Santucci; Sunday, March 13, 2011; We’re hanging around Nico Santucci’s place with his 12-week-old African serval, Monster, waiting for former All-Star pitcher Chuck Finley to drop in. A European television crew is roaming the grounds, taping Santucci, a bachelor entrepreneur, and his unusual home, for a weekend show about the opulent lives of the world’s wealthy.
What's a sign worth? In Las Vegas, it's invaluable: Friday, March 11, 2011; Longtime neighborhood watering holes are often the social hub stitching together the neighborhood. In transitional Las Vegas, enduring haunts ...
And The Cosmopolitan’s new artist-in-residence is ...: Wednesday, March 9, 2011; Move over, Fab5Freddie and your kickass portraits of Swarovski-bedazzled pugilists and strippers. The Cosmopolitan’s new artist-in-residence is Steven Spann, a ...
Artist Dennis Oppenheim dies, leaving unfinished sculpture in Las Vegas: Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011; Now that Dennis Oppenheim, creator of the controversial and incomplete $700,000 public art project in downtown, has died, the obvious question is, “What now?”
Appreciating Ansel Adams at UNLV's Barrick Museum: Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011; There’s a 1960 winter in Yosemite Valley, a 1941 moonrise in Hernandez, N.M., Yosemite’s Tenaya Lake in 1975 and other natural ...
Irreverence of Las Vegas tourists extends to high art: Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011; Las Vegas pitches itself as this increasingly sophisticated, yet still inebriated good time, a getaway for gawking tourists unleashing wild behavior during a four-day junket that includes drink coupons and exposure to contemporary art. But it seems that the blend of art and recklessness has yet to settle in. Maybe we just can’t have nice things.
Twitter as art: Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011; We shoot texts into the ether every day, tweet meaningless gossip and confess transgressions in digital thought bubbles as we mill about the world. ...
Smith Center a mixed blessing for performing arts groups: Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011; Las Vegas’ largest performing arts institutions have faced an odd predicament over the past two years: an economy that’s forced them to slash budgets, while simultaneously struggling to grow in preparation for their move to the Smith Center for the Performing Arts.
The art of perfection: Legendary ballerina graces local dance scene: Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2010; Cynthia Gregory has been called many things during her dancing career: the Swan Queen, a luminary, a controversial artist and, as Rudolf Nureyev once referred to her, America’s prima ballerina.
Neon Museum hosts open house at its Neon Boneyard: Friday, Dec. 17, 2010; Now’s the time to see what The Neon Museum has been doing for the past several months while shifting old bones around behind its fences. ...
Cosmo's art, entertainment and nightlife options: A guide to the features that separate the new resort from the pack; Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010; Everything you want to know about the new resort's dining, nightlife, art and more. In the months leading up to the Cosmopolitan's opening this week, the 2,995-room resort has pegged its marketing blitz on one simple message: it is different. Its billboards, print ads and buzz-inducing TV spot have all sought to further the idea that the $3.9 billion property was not built off the tried-and-true Vegas formula but from its own checklist of Vegas standards and more unusual stand-ins
Cosmo’s Art-O-Mat machines offer up $5 works of art: Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010; Art-O-Mat machines already move nearly 25,000 works of art annually, vending in coffee shops, galleries and museums, including New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art.
Should we clap? Wait. Yes. Bravo! Shhhhhhhhh! Oops.: Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010; David Itkin and the Las Vegas Philharmonic were performing Tchaikovsky’s “Fourth Symphony” the other night — an entirely gripping performance — when a symphony of another kind broke out in the audience.
Shining new light on Las Vegas’ past: City park next to the Boneyard, a museum of classic neon, is latest effort in preservation; Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010; Crews switched on the sign for the Neon Boneyard Park in a trial run Monday night, lighting the small park and its midmod décor, which will probably become a destination in itself, a welcome time warp in a city that nearly forgot its past. Located next to the Boneyard — an outdoor museum of old Las Vegas signs near Cashman Field — the enclosed park features boomerang-shaped benches, decorative cinder block walls and a folded-plate roof that serves as a canopy over futuristic-style tables and chairs.
Native American artist reconnects with her father through her Winchester exhibit: Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010; What You Left Me includes official documents, photographs and personal belongings that portray her father as a Native American, family man, convicted killer ...
James Rosenquist painting to be unveiled at Lou Ruvo Center: Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010; The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health has announced that it will unveil the Steve Wynn-commissioned James Rosenquist painting “Cervello Spazio Cosmico” ...
Mad about Mid Mod: Weekend of festivities on tap to celebrate the style of an era; Friday, Oct. 22, 2010; Thank you, Don and Betty Draper. Seriously.
Art incognito: CAC's new exhibit is hidden in plain view: Monday, Oct. 11, 2010; The current show at Contemporary Arts Center might have visitors asking, “Where’s the exhibit?”
Traditional ballet with a modern edge: Artistic director challenges his dancers, seeks to appeal to a wider audience; Monday, Oct. 11, 2010; So there’s this guy who did a stint selling duct tape wallets in Hawaii, running a gas station and taking a break from a successful 30-year dance career. He comes to Nevada Ballet Theatre, but then the economic downturn hits and the company’s budget is slashed.
Accordions! Norwegians! In Las Vegas?!: Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010; Guitarists, vocalists, a washboard player and...24+ accordionists. Now that's a party!
A trip through Abby Coe’s 'Hot Spot': Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010; The artist succeeded in interacting with the gallery's architecture, using reflected light to engage ideas of place and home.... I didn't "get" it, but I loved it.
Desert discoveries at the 'Four Corners' art show: Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010; Iconic signs, sculptures and palm trees planted roadside in the open desert are the subject of Suzanne Hackett-Morgan's paintings.
Pair of art exhibits explore city in foreclosure crisis: Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010; The pathway to our community's economic and foreclosure hell is easily traceable. Its magnitude, however, is more difficult to grasp.