The visual icons of Las Vegas are frequently recreated by local artists. And typically, their inspiration is drawn (sometimes literally) from the Strip — maybe Fremont Street, too.
But Ethan Salmon wanted to shine a spotlight on another Las Vegas. The one locals drive by on their way home. The one that doesn’t always look glamorous. The one that shows what nature eventually does to an urban environment.
The born-and-raised Nevada artist and Las Vegas Academy instructional assistant has done just that. His current exhibition, Structured, is showing through March 28 at Recycled Propaganda, where he also serves as the de facto gallerist.
Structured is an ode to a mostly bygone Las Vegas, often depicting since-demolished off-Strip landmarks, some of which are in a state of decay. "There's a lot of different places and locations throughout the city that I've always held dear to my heart, both through the aesthetics that are presented, as well as the way that memories are connected to different places," Salmon said. "And I wanted to create an art show that spoke towards the preservation of memory of different locations throughout the city."
Salmon uses wall sculptures, paintings, found items, and painstakingly detailed models to highlight icons familiar to longtime locals, from the old Mission Linen building in the Arts District — now being renovated into a mixed-use facility — to a sign for Fong's Garden Chinese restaurant that once towered over on East Charleston Boulevard. But it's not just his works that transport you back to old Las Vegas. Salmon also repainted and restyled Recycled Propaganda's main exhibition room to replicate the look of an aging structure, creating a truly transportive environment.
"I've been incredibly inspired by lots of different local artists that have done this before, and I really wanted to create a space that reflected the work presented," Salmon said. "A lot of my models feature industrial infrastructure and rust and grime and oil stains, and I wanted the space of the gallery itself to reflect that, and I wanted viewers to be able to step in there and almost feel a part of one of the models that they see in front of them."
For Salmon, Structured is personal. It serves as a reminder of both the types of places he passed every day to and from the John S. Park neighborhood of his youth, as well as of an era of Las Vegas that the 22-year-old never got to experience. And crafting the works that eventually comprised the exhibition provided a therapeutic release.
"Even though the artwork itself is not emotional, I still find a lot of emotional catharsis through the act of creation and just the act of sitting down, zen-ing out, carving away at a block of foam with an exacto, through those moments of silence and practice," Salmon said. "You end up working out a lot of stuff in your mind."
Ethan Salmon, visual artist; staff member, Recycled Propaganda; instructional assistant, Las Vegas Academy of the Arts Visual & Media Arts Conservatory
