It began with a ghostly presence near a pretty ghostly desert town in 1984. Belgian artist Albert Szukalski sculpted his interpretation of The Last Supper, made up of white shrouded figures, and he installed it in the middle of the desert, near Rhyolite, Nevada, two hours northwest of Las Vegas.
Little did he know it was the first of many sculptures to become the Goldwell Open Air Museum, populated by the works of international artists — and a few local ones. Nor could he have predicted that his once-secret art installation would eventually attract some 200,000 people a year.
The Goldwell Museum is celebrating its 40th anniversary this weekend with several events, including a parade, live music and theatrical performances, poetry, and a workshop to make smaller versions of Szukalski's "ghosts."
For museum founder and executive director Suzanne Hackett-Morgan, who says the spot was "a place that found me" back in 1994, it's the culmination of her successful 30-year effort to make the Goldwell both a world-famous destination and a place for artists to create their own art through a residency program. Her retirement just around the corner, she's handing the reins to artist and current museum president Michelle Graves.
"I think it's time for a younger generation to discover [the Goldwell Museum] and see if it still makes sense," she says. "It made sense to me when we started it. The context of Nye County, Area 51, the sex trade, mining — all of those things were relevant. Now there's a whole bunch of other issues that are relevant."
"This is not my place," she adds. "I think it belongs to Nevada."
For more information and details of Saturday's event, visit goldwellmuseum.org.
Guest: Suzanne Hackett-Morgan, founder and executive director, Goldwell Open Air Museum
