Wynn Las Vegas Engages Artists To Commemorate Latest Entertainment Spectacle Awakening
Resort Assembles Unique Roster of Artistic Talent to Celebrate the Launch of New Show
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on its commitment to artists and cultivating the arts, Wynn Las Vegas (Nasdaq: WYNN) has developed creative extensions and artistic collaboration for its new show, Awakening. The collaborations include three, large-format wallscape murals, an animated short film from award-winning creative studio Art Camp, and two artistic decks of cards from leading illustrator and comic artist Jen Bartel.
"As Awakening came together, we realized the power of what we were working on and were inspired to extend the artistry beyond the walls of the theater," said Craig Billings, CEO of Wynn Resorts. "We commissioned these beautiful pieces of art with no restraints on this talented group of artists because that is what Wynn does best – we let amazing talent create beauty."
Allison Hueman, also known as "Hueman," is one of three artists tapped to recreate the artistic theme of the show with a large-scale wallscape. Located in the SOMA neighborhood at 5th and Tehema Street in San Francisco, the mural is reminiscent of Awakening's prismatic stage made of dichroic glass and showcases multiple components of the show's narrative. Hueman's work, titled "The Awakening," will be on display through January 2023.
Based in Oakland, CA, Hueman is a multidisciplinary artist specializing in a distinctly gauzy art style she refers to as "etherealism," a blend of ethereal realism. Whether creating delicate visions on canvas or augmenting reality through video projections and other digital media, Hueman often draws on the human condition to create colorful mash-ups of the abstract and figurative. Seen on streets and in galleries worldwide and having collaborated with major brands such as the Golden State Warriors, Nike, and Google, her pieces explore themes of time, memory, trauma and healing.
Hueman is joined by multimedia powerhouse Kentaro Yoshimura, a qualified muralist through the Department of Cultural Affairs. He has produced immersive pieces for individuals and entities ranging from LEGO to Britney Spears and has been appointed as a cultural ambassador for the upcoming Los Angeles Olympics. Most recently, Yoshimura completed two 2,500 square foot murals in downtown L.A. commemorating the first Asian-American astronaut in space.
Yoshimura's work, titled "Chiaroscuro," will be featured in L.A. along the I-10 Santa Monica Freeway through January 2023.
Rounding out the trio is graffiti artist Clyde Thompson, known as "Clyde." An artist born and based out of Phoenix, Clyde is known for his fine-art approach to street-art. Influences from the Phoenix graffiti scene and an interest in architecture led to a career in large-scale murals. His passion lies in creating an exciting and new experience for the viewer, while also contributing to the existing elements of a mural's surrounding space. Clyde is inspired by architectural details, the surrounding environment, and the opportunity to create a unique landmark for the local community.
Clyde's design, titled "IO," will appear downtown near Jefferson Street in Phoenix through December 2022. The murals were commissioned in collaboration with visual art curators and producers, Building 180.
In addition to the installations, Wynn Las Vegas is debuting an animated short film that is intended to appear at festivals in 2023. Awakening's writer Kelly Sue DeConnick crafted a compelling companion piece in collaboration with Santiago Carrasquilla and Jose Diaz Contreras, the founders of Art Camp.
Art Camp is a creative studio dedicated to storytelling in a variety of different formats and is known for working with musicians such as Tom Yorke, Mitski and Bright Eyes. Kelly Sue DeConnick is one of the most sought-after writers in the industry, with work spanning stage, comics, film, and television. DeConnick first came to prominence as a comics writer, where she is best known for reinventing the beloved character of Carol Danvers as "Captain Marvel" for Marvel Entertainment, and for the Eisner Award-winning DC book Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons; her screen work includes Captain Marvel and 2023's The Marvels with Marvel Studios.
Wynn Las Vegas also engaged in an artistic collaboration with two-time Eisner®-award-winner Jen Bartel to design two custom decks of playing cards exclusively for Awakening. The cards offer a vivid interpretation of Awakening's characters as Jacks, Queens and Kings, brought to life through Bartel's colorful and bold illustrations.
Bartel is an illustrator and comic artist who is best known for depicting strong leading characters, particularly women. Her use of color is signature to her designs: bold, thematic, and often moody. Bartel creates a world within her illustrations that makes her one of the most sought-after cover artists for clients like Marvel, Disney and Chronicle Books. She also routinely collaborates with partners like Puma and Adidas and is the co-creator and artist of "BLACKBIRD" from Image Comics.
These works join Wynn's existing collection of art that is prominently displayed throughout public areas of its resorts including, Jeff Koons' Tulips and the century-old Eiffel Chandelier by Gustave Eiffel at Wynn Las Vegas; three 20-foot stainless steel sculptures known as Plensa Trio in Encore Boston Harbor's Harborwalk, by artist Jaume Plensa; and a group of unique and culturally significant Chinese porcelain baluster vases from the Jiaqing period at Wynn Macau. Wynn Resorts' collection among its four resorts totals more than 100 paintings, drawings, tapestries, pieces of sculpture and objects d'art.
With the launch of Awakening, Wynn is evolving its signature ethos of elegance and artfulness and shepherding a new era of artistic expression helmed by up-and-coming multidisciplinary artists.
Conceived and created by Bernie Yuman, Baz Halpin and Michael Curry, and narrated by two-time Academy Award®-winner Anthony Hopkins, Awakening is an unprecedented spectacle that immerses audiences in a custom-designed 360-degree theater.
Awakening at Wynn Las Vegas premiered on Monday, Nov. 7. Tickets are available at awakening.com. Showtimes are 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday.
Wynn Resorts is the recipient of more Forbes Travel Guide Five Star Awards than any other independent hotel company in the world and in 2022 was once again honored on FORTUNE Magazine's World's Most Admired Companies list. Wynn and Encore Las Vegas consist of two luxury hotel towers with a total of 4,748 spacious hotel rooms, suites and villas. The resort features approximately 194,000 square feet of casino space, 20 signature dining experiences, 11 bars, two award-winning spas, approximately 560,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, approximately 160,000 square feet of retail space as well as two showrooms, two nightclubs, a beach club and recreation and leisure facilities, such as the recently renovated Wynn Golf Club and 18-hole, 129-acre championship golf course. For more information on Wynn and Encore Las Vegas, visit press.wynnlasvegas.com.
Media Contact:
Deanna Pettit-Irestone
deanna.pettit-irestone@wynnlasvegas.com
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