Art for Art’s Sake

CityCenter’s art collection understated yet elegant

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Brugge ”Typewriter Eraser, Scale X”

Although the very structure, designs and architecture of CityCenter are works of art, the creators of the project felt it was necessary to include some works of art that would enrich and “engage” visitors. With a $40 million budget for art, MGM Resorts came up with some high-profile and significant artists and their work.

Maya Lin “Silver River”

Maybe the most famous is Maya Lin, the creator of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Lin offers a vision in reclaimed silver that reflects the nearby Colorado River, hanging above Aria’s front desk.

 

Nancy Rubins ”The Greatest”

Nancy Rubins may have brought the most dramatic art to CityCenter, an explosion of water craft—rowboats, kayaks, canoes, small sailboats, surfboards, wind-surf boards, jet skis, paddle boats, catamarans and other small river and ocean vessels—set near the porte-cochere at Vdara.
 

The Mandarin Oriental hosts a playful piece by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Brugge—Typewriter Eraser, Scale X, 1998-1999 (at top)—that allows visitors to pose, examine or simply be amazed at the iconic structure.

 

Henry Moore “Reclining Connected Forms”

Henry Moore’s “Reclining Connected Forms, 1969-1974” at Aria is an abstract work that displays a baby wrapped in its mother’s embrace. Walk around the piece of art, view it from different angles and discover unique shapes that define the art and the artist.

 

Frank Stella “Damascus Gate Variation I”

Jenny Holzer “Vegas”

Other works of art by Frank Stella, Jenny Holzer, Richard Long and more are all display for free viewing. CityCenter provides brochures for its Fine Art Program that allows visitors to travel to each significant work of art and read about the artist who created it, as well as the inspiration and reasoning behind it.

 

 

Articles by Author: Roger Gros

Roger Gros is publisher of Global Gaming Business, the industry’s leading gaming trade publication, and all its related publications. Prior to joining Global Gaming Business, Gros was president of Inlet Communications, an independent consulting firm. He was vice president of Casino Journal Publishing Group from 1984-2000, and held virtually every editorial title during his tenure. Gros was editor of Casino Journal, the National Gaming Summary and the Atlantic City Insider, and was the founding editor of Casino Player magazine. He was a co-founder of the American Gaming Summit and the Southern Gaming Summit conferences and trade shows.
Roger Gros is the author of the best-selling book, How to Win at Casino Gambling (Carlton Books, 1995), now in its fourth edition. Gros was named “Businessman of the Year” for 1998 by the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Gaming Association in 2012 as part of the annual AGA Communications Awards.