Star Axis: Experience & Explore with Charles Ross

Star Axis: Experience & Explore with artist Charles Ross.  Truly a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. 

Artist and creator Charles Ross, along with artist Jill O’Bryan, will guide a exclusively private tour for two at the under construction and closed to the general public installations called Star Axis.  

“Enter the earth to reach the stars.” –Charles Ross

Star Axis is an earthwork built to observe the stars.  Created by artist Charles Ross, all of Star Axis’ shapes and angles are determined by earth-to-star alignments built into the architecture so they can be experienced in physical form and human scale. 

Ross’ artwork involves light, time, and planetary motion.  Star Axis, his largest project, was conceived in 1971.  Built with earth, granite, sandstone, stainless steel, and bronze, Star Axis is 11 stories high and 1/10th mile across.

This package includes guided visits to two additional Charles Ross installations in Las Vegas.  A visit to the Dwan Light Sanctuary.  Commissioned in 1996 by Virginia Dwan, it’s a nondenominational chapel created as a collaboration between Dwan, architect Laban Wingert, and Charles Ross.  It’s situated on the United World College campus in Montezuma just north of Las Vegas (NM).  Here you will experience Ross’s 24 large-scale prisms that are specifically aligned with the sun to project different spectrum events for every day and season as they move through the circular space propelled by the turning of the Earth.

Next onto the New Mexico Highland’s University campus.  The installation is titled, “4 over 5 + 72” and is located at the Ivan Hilton Science & Technology building.  Outside the building there are 72 scientific equations, formulas and concept words etched in metal and mounted in the sidewalks.  They represent fundamental contemporary and historical scientific thought, so as one enters or exits the building they walk through a conceptual field of scientific knowledge.  

Once inside, there are 4 large-scale prisms in the third floor of the atrium and 5 in the first floor.   When struck by direct sunlight the prisms project large bands of spectrum color that circulate through the rotunda.  Each prism is specifically aligned with the sun to project an evolving flow of unique solar spectrum events.  

The tour can be any morning of the week, subject to the artist’s availability, within the time period between August 1-September 30, 2019.  A mutually convenient date will be determined with the buyer and organizers of the auction.  Transportation and box lunches will be provided for the Star Axis tour.  Hotel accommodations for two evenings will be complementary at the historical Plaza Hotel located in Las Vegas, New Mexico along with an evening meal with guest speaker on the Arts & Economics of The Meadow City.  Travel arrangements to and from Las Vegas, New Mexico are not included in the package.

Learn more at  staraxis.org and charlesrossstudio.com 

Dwan Light interior photo: Kathy Hendrickson, Southwest Detours