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Levitated Mass

Levitated Mass is a 2012 large-scale public artwork by Michael Heizer at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Resnick North Lawn. The installation features a 340-ton boulder positioned above a viewing pathway, allowing 360-degree viewing. Heizer first conceived the work in 1968 and made an earlier attempt in 1969 using a 120-ton boulder, but that effort was abandoned. The final rock was discovered in 2006 at Stone Valley Quarry in Jurupa Valley, California, and transported to LACMA in 2012 on a custom-built 196-wheeled transporter. The project was funded entirely by private donations and cost an estimated $10 million. It opened to the public on June 24, 2012, and is viewable during museum hours without museum admission.

Levitated Mass shows a massive boulder suspended above a concrete pathway between sloping walls.
Levitated Mass by Michael Heizer at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
© · Public domain
Levitated Mass sculpture with a large boulder appearing to hover above a concrete trough, with palm trees and blue sky behind it.
Levitated Mass by Michael Heizer appears to float above a long concrete trough at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
© · Public domain
Levitated Mass boulder at LACMA with modern buildings and palm trees behind it
Levitated Mass at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, shown with nearby buildings and palm trees.
© · Public domain
Levitated Mass boulder wrapped in white plastic on a transport vehicle at a construction site.
The Levitated Mass boulder sits wrapped and ready for installation at the museum site.
March 2012 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
A large covered boulder for Levitated Mass sits on a flatbed trailer in a busy construction staging area with cranes, trucks, and stacked materials.
The Levitated Mass boulder is shown during site preparation at LACMA, surrounded by construction equipment and materials.
March 2012 © · CC BY-SA 3.0

Identification

TitleLevitated Mass
French titleMasse lévitée
Typelarge-scale public sculpture and monumental installation

Creator

Artist nationalityAmerican
ArtistMichael Heizer

Historical context

Conception date1968
First attempt1969
First attempt boulder120 tons
First attempt outcomeAbandoned after the crane boom broke while lifting the boulder
Second boulder discoveredDecember 2006
Second boulder locationStone Valley Quarry, Jurupa Valley, Riverside County, California
Second boulder weight340 tons
Public openingJune 24, 2012

Discovery and provenance

Arrival at LACMAMarch 10, 2012 at 4:30 am
Project facilitated byMichael Govan, director of LACMA
Estimated costabout US$10 million
FundingEntirely privately funded
Transport preparationThe boulder was wrapped in cotton and plastic before loading
Distance of quarry from Los Angelesabout 90 km
Transport duration11 days
Transport timingTravelled only at night
Transport routeAbout 150-170 km through 22 cities in 4 counties
Transport vehicleA custom-built carrier, 164 feet long and with 196 wheels
Transport companyHanjin Shipping
Boulder quarryA quarry near Jurupa Valley, Riverside County, California

Physical characteristics

Support structureThe boulder rests on two steel supports fixed to the inner trench walls
Surrounding materialCompressed decomposed granite
Boulder height21.5 feet (6.55 m)
TrenchA reinforced-concrete trench about 140–139 meters long, about 5 meters wide, descending gradually to about 4.5–4.6 meters below ground at its center
Boulder weight340 tons
Central elementA granite boulder

Appearance

Viewing arrangementThe boulder is placed above a viewing path so it can be seen in 360 degrees
Visitor experienceVisitors can walk through the trench and stand directly underneath the boulder
Visual effectThe supports are small relative to the boulder, creating the impression that it is floating or suspended

Iconography and meaning

InspirationAncient megaliths
Title meaningThe title refers to the impression that the stone is floating
Artist statementHeizer described the work as "static art" and emphasized the boulder's size and the work's longevity
Intended lifespan3,500 years, or possibly forever
Initial design conceptOriginally planned as a boulder affixed directly to the trench walls to create an optical illusion of floating from inside the trench
Related earlier workHeizer made a smaller 1982 work of the same title in Manhattan, with a carved rock on hidden supports that preserved the floating effect

Location and ownership

Current locationLACMA campus, Los Angeles, California, United States
Public accessOpen to the public free of charge during museum hours; rain access is not allowed

History and restoration

Transport coverageThe transport from the quarry to Los Angeles was widely covered by the media
Construction after arrivalAbout three more months were needed to finish the trench and install the boulder
Opening attendeesMichael Govan, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, and Michael Heizer

Significance

Public receptionThe installation's nature, expense, and scale drew discussion in the public art world
Critical assessmentChristopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times called it "good sculpture, if not great"
Critical interpretationKnight contrasted a desert landscape with Los Angeles's fragile urban landscape
Media recognitionComplex magazine listed it as one of the 50 Most Iconic Artworks of the Past Five Years
DocumentaryLevitated Mass: The Story of Michael Heizer's Monolithic Sculpture, directed by Doug Pray, premiered on June 20, 2013 at LACMA's Bing Theater as part of the Los Angeles Film Festival
Related artwork by Régis Perray340 Grammes Déplacés..., a transatlantic action by Régis Perray echoing the transport of Levitated Mass
Parody tributeLevitating Mass, a half-scale helium-balloon replica by Mungo Thomson commissioned by the Aspen Art Museum for the 2012 Aspen Old-Fashioned Fourth of July Parade, created ten days after the original opening

Other

Museum sketch noteLACMA published a preliminary sketch with a handwritten note that it "destroys gestalt concepts"