Crowd Burst

The Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art is pleased to present "Crowd Burst," a new mixed media photographic installation by Las Vegas artist Heather Protz.

Titled "From the Series: Crowd Burst - Fremont 2," this installation piece builds on the expansive body of black and white photographs in Protz’s dynamic ongoing series, "Turning the Tables: A View from the Street" (2014 - present). Combining street photography with reflective material, the artist fills the Marjorie Barrick Museum’s outdoor Window Gallery with a compact work that brings every passer-by into the space of a Las Vegas crowd. "Crowd Burst" represents a fresh development in Protz’s ongoing quest to find the elusive moments that reveal the essence of quotidian life in the city.

Speaking about "Turning the Tables" for the Lenscratch States Project in 2015, she said, “Shooting in the photographic tradition of street photography, Las Vegas, my hometown, became a rich source of inspiration. From Vegas I have ventured to other cities, photographing the locals, the tourists, the young, the old, the affluent, and the down and out. From the ordinary actions of the natives to the curiosity of the sightseer, this series examines the daily experience of people navigating a city.”

A companion piece to "Crowd Burst" will be exhibited in the third annual "Eclectic Womxn" exhibition at Savidan Gallery this March in celebration of Women’s Month. The exhibition opens on Saturday, March 4. Savidan is located at 1310 S 3rd St Suite 200, Las Vegas, NV 89104.

"Crowd Burst" will be on view at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art at UNLV from March 14 - July 8, 2023, with an opening reception on March 24.