THE 705 EROGENOUS ZONE by Aaron Sheppard is an art installation that has transformed The 705 (previously the Veteran of Foreign Wars Building) located at 705 Las Vegas Boulevard North, across the street from the Neon Museum in Las Vegas. THE 705 EROGENOUS ZONE is a vibrant homage to the incredible arts and cultural institutions located in the Cultural Corridor. Curated by Laura Henkel of Sin City Gallery and sponsored by Zappos, the art installation completed In June, 2017.
Artist Statement
As a statement for what is yet to become (soon to be created), I reflect upon where I am at the present and very recent past.
My recent exhibition at Sin City Gallery (Sensitive White Boy Syndrome) consists of creating works in which I focused specifically on smaller works for the home. Being a relatively new homeowner, I began to understand that the translation of my works outside of the studio, gallery and museum into the home was often untranslatable. I had, for the most part, lived and worked in large warehouse lofts. Upon moving into my Joshua Tree home, I only then understood why my larger pieces were out of touch with the place of home; they quite simply didn’t fit, either due to size and/or dominance. I created smaller framed and collaged pieces that were made for specific places inside my new home, that didn’t overwhelm the space yet enhanced it while also being stand-alone works of fine art.
During the install of this exhibition, Gallery Director, Laura Henkel, introduced me to a new type of canvas, an entire building in which carte blanche was given by Alison Chambers, the owner of The 705, to cover in paint. I found this very ironic that after locating my new awareness of artwork within the interior living quarters, I was then thrust into the opportunity to immediately abandon ship for grandiose exterior mark making. Now the game has completely changed! What does artwork look like that is to be viewed from the seat of a car and hoofing it passersby. How does artwork on this scale impact one’s community?
I have always enjoyed working on a larger, more gestural scale. Simultaneously, I have also enjoyed exploring more intimate and line works in smaller black and white drawings. My idea for painting my first mural on an entire building located at 705 Las Vegas Boulevard is to further explore what “inside” and “outside” can mean, in multiple capacities and meanings of the words.
The 705 Erogenous Zone is to expand the delicate, intimate felt imagery onto a large-scale wonderland. I reference Aubrey Beardsley and my beloved Franz von Bayros for inspiration to “decorate” with images of lace and ecstasy the provocative lines that are otherwise kept inside a pocketbook close to the heart and closer to the groin. Through this experiment, I anticipate learning something otherwise left naïve to me about of understanding of the heart and groin of a city that is the collectively cohabited space of individual passions.
– Aaron Sheppard –
Image of Pia Zadora at Aaron Shepperd’s The 705 Erogenous Zone mural installation by Krystal Ramirez