Driving in from Interstate 15, freeway exits vie with Magic Mike Live and Celine Dion in all their billboard bodacious-ness. The Pyramids reside a stroll from the Eiffel Tower, while at night, neon signs face off with a light parade of fountains. You may ask, is that all there is? Reputation dies hard, but you suspect there is more, and that may lead to the sidewalks and alleys crisscrossing the City, as described in Street Art Las Vegas, published by Jim Stanford's Smallworks Press. Roughly the size of a Thomas Guide, but way cooler and just as informative, the book covers a lot of ground, with an overview of the street art that sinews through pathways and fronts massive buildings.
Las Vegas may be the Oasis, but Shea and Lai point to some fascinating art spots beyond. The big expanse of Henderson offers a huge canvas with less oversight. At Three Kids Mine, an old mill site from 1916 to 1962, the street artists Aware created a Wheel of Misfortune, so beware of landing on “lose job” or “lose home.” In the Mojave Desert near Searchlight, the art collective Indecline transformed a former gold-processing plant into a clarion for public awareness art known as Death Metals. A ghost miner, pneumatic chisel and acetylene cutting torches boldly state that there's more to street art than murals.
