Las Vegas I, Las Vegas, Nevada

Thomas Struth

1999 · Chromogenic print · Photographs

Known for his photographs of cities, museums, and other cultural destinations, Struth has the rare ability to present the character and contradictions of our own historical moment in a cool, objective light. Many of his best photographs focus on architecture as an expression of cultural values, fantasies, and desires. In this view of the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the bland façade of a highrise hotel looms over an elaborate simulation of a Caribbean port town. Through careful framing and an exaggerated sense of scale, Struth accentuates the irony of a palm-fringed lagoon in the middle of the Nevada desert, where pirate battles are staged nightly for tourists and simulated spectacle appears more real than reality itself.

Artist

Thomas Struth

Date

1999

Medium

Chromogenic print

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Gift of Dr. Didier F. Loulmet, 2008