Artist Erin Stellmon says her work as an artist deals with the transient nature of Las Vegas. That’s also true of her work at the Neon Museum, where she serves as media coordinator.
Monday, Aug. 25, 2008 | 2 a.m.
"Binion's Horseshoe Restoration," artwork by Erin Stellmon.
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Beyond the Sun
Age: 33
Media: Paper, ink, iron-ons, shrink plastic, vinyl, various paints, “whatever fits for the individual work.”
Education: Bachelor’s from Parsons School of Design, master’s from UNLV
Day jobs: Adjunct drawing professor at UNLV; media coordinator at the Neon Museum
Philosophy: “My work deals with the transient nature of Las Vegas, from the unending construction to the spectacle of implosion. I am interested in this city’s ability to constantly reinvent itself and its reinterpretation of an American utopia.”
Hobbies and interests: Arm wrestled and played softball in New York City. Lured into “casino sports” here: “A bunch of my artist friends get together once a week for bowling and have been doing so for six months now.” Watching “American Experience,” reading comics, visiting the Pinball Hall of Fame, finding piles of dirt and jagged metal to take photos of.
Studio space: Dining room table
Why Vegas? Born and raised in Portland, Ore., Stellmon moved here four years ago to attend UNLV. She’d grown disgruntled after 10 years of living in crowded New York City — studying at Parsons, working different jobs and painting images of fading neon signs in Portland from personal photographs.
“It seemed that there had been something drawing me here for a long time. Everything is so ridiculous and over the top. There’s the ability to meet people from all walks of life, from all over the world, in the span of an hour. The big ancient city rules don’t apply here and the amount of possibilities seemed endless.”
Las Vegas gave her a chance to observe the suburban, desert landscape and its inhabitants. “The constant construction, muted colors, desolation and sordid history have all been present in my work,” she says. “Most recently, I have been inspired by the efforts to save and restore Vegas’ past. I meet people from all over the United States when they visit the Neon Museum’s Boneyard and they are always stating that they wish that their city was doing half of what Vegas is doing to save history. It is something that isn’t talked about much, so I have been trying to point it out in my newer work.”
The community: “I have benefited extensively from the generosity of the Las Vegas community, but I have noticed in Las Vegas there are a lot of talking heads that find themselves on NPR discussing the lack of art community and the struggle to keep artists from leaving, but I seem to never find them at an art opening or artist’s lectures. It is genuinely disheartening.”
Sticking around? Working with a team of artists — Danielle Kelly, Adam Morrey and Aaron Sheppard — on a public art project on Casino Center just south of Charleston Boulevard. “After installation and ribbon cutting I will be moving with my boyfriend Aaron to Philadelphia, most likely next spring.”
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