  LEVITATED MASS
A film by Doug Pray
Doug Pray is available for interviews.
89 minutes, documentary, color, English, 2013
iTunes and DVD Extras: Short Films: The Rig; The Public Response; The Artwork • About Michael Heizer • About LACMA • About the Filmmakers
When pioneering land artist Michael Heizer finds the giant boulder he's been searching for since 1968, it sets off an epic struggle to realize one of America's newest and largest public artworks, 'Levitated Mass.' The 340-ton rock's journey from a desert quarry to its perch atop Heizer's gigantic, walled slot in the earth at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art attracted international media and challenged the imagination of thousands as it crawled 105 miles through 22 cities on a football field-length, 206-wheeled trailer.
Directed by Doug Pray (Art & Copy, Surfwise, Hype!), Levitated Mass weaves together the dramatic story of a major museum's ambitions, monumental bureaucratic and engineering obstacles, a bewildered and thrilled public, and the reclusive and demanding Heizer himself, whose striking work collides traditions of ancient monoliths with modern conceptual art on a grand scale.
• 2014 Theatrical Release
“Wonderfully entertaining. With a deft hand, filmmaker Doug Pray juxtaposes a history of Michael Heizer's revolutionary career as a "negative space" sculptor with an insider's view of the insanely complex planning it took to move the two-story monolith.” - LA Weekly
“'Something amazing just happened.' Capturing that amazement and much more besides, Doug Pray’s sneakily compelling documentary accompanies the 340-ton boulder on its surreal journey from the California desert to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.” - The New York Times
“Jaw-dropping pleasures!” - Huffington Post
“Illuminating, engaging and unexpected. Well-directed, with exceptional access by veteran documentarian Doug Pray, the film takes you behind the scenes of that particular media sensation and does a considerable amount more as well.” - Los Angeles Times
“Wondrous!” - Village Voice
“Skillfully structured and highly entertaining. Partly an exploration of an artist's oeuvre, partly a procedural for logistically nightmarish transport, partly a record of an 11-day spontaneous 'happening,' and partly an amalgam of different views on art, the film manages to appeal to art lovers, pop-culture disciples and high-concept skeptics and supporters alike.” - Variety
“Deftly captures the frustration, excitement and--in some folks' eyes--hubris of the project. But what this amazing film ultimately does is ask, 'What is the meaning of art?'” - Frontiers Magazine
UPC: 720229916318 | Catalog #: FRF916318D | $27.95 | Street: Dec 16 |
