Levitated Mass
Levitated Mass by artist Michael Heizer is composed of a 456-foot-long slot constructed on LACMA's campus, over which is placed a 340-ton granite megalith. The slot gradually descends to fifteen feet in depth, running underneath the boulder. As with other works by the artist, such as Double Negative (1969), the monumental negative form is key to the experience of the artwork.
Heizer conceived of the artwork in 1969; a drawing of the work is in the collection of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. The artist discovered an appropriate boulder only decades later, in Riverside County, California. The boulder is one component of the artwork, as is the 456-foot-long slot beneath it and the surrounding environment.
Taken whole, Levitated Mass speaks to the expanse of art history, from ancient traditions of creating artworks from megalithic stone, to modern forms of abstract geometries and cutting-edge feats of engineering.
Hours: 7 am–Sundown every day. Visitors are welcome to enter through the 6th Street park gates or through the museum during regular hours. Please note that entry to Levitated Mass is not available when it is raining.
Image: © Michael Heizer.
Levitated Mass was made possible by gifts to Transformation: The LACMA Campaign from Jane and Terry Semel, Bobby Kotick, Carole Bayer Sager and Bob Daly, Beth and Joshua Friedman, Steve Tisch Family Foundation, Elaine Wynn, Linda, Bobby, and Brian Daly, Richard Merkin, MD, and the Mohn Family Foundation, and is dedicated by LACMA to the memory of Nancy Daly.
Transportation made possible by 
The Megalith Arrives at LACMA
Transport of the megalith began on the night of Febrary 28th and took place over eleven consecutive evenings. Here, the megalith arrives at LACMA.
Michael Govan on Levitated Mass
LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director Michael Govan was among the speakers at Sunday’s dedication ceremony for Michael Heizer’s Levitated Mass. Exclusively on Unframed, we offer a transcript of his remarks from the historic event...
Critical Mass for Levitated Mass
This weekend, while I was in Rowland Heights observing the megalith that is to be part of Levitated Mass, I overheard another viewer say, “That boulder would make the ancient Egyptians proud. It is almost as big as one of the stones from the Great Pyramid"...
