LACMA's rock, at last, is ready for its close-up.
This Sunday morning a crowd of museum employees, donors, trustees and their families has gathered on the grounds of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art around "Levitated Mass," the headline-grabbing environmental sculpture by artist Michael Heizer.
"Levitated Mass" will open to the public after an inaugural ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m.
Before the big moment, the VIP guests have been sampling complimentary coffee, chocolate chip scones and blueberry muffins. KCRW DJ Dan Wilcox, standing on a radio stand beneath white umbrellas, prepared to play what he called "fun rock" to set the mood.
The rock drew massive attention -- as well as ardent crowds -- when it made an 11-night journey this March from a quarry in Riverside through a series of Los Angeles County cities to the LACMA grounds on Wilshire Boulevard. The 340-ton boulder traveled on a specially made transporter at just a few miles per hour as it negotiated surface streets, bridges, at least one tight overpass and sharp turns, a trip that required months of logistical planning and negotiating with local municipalities
