This is Caesars
Palace. Frank Sinatra and George Burns performed at here, along with all the
big time movie stars and singers, at one time or another. One hundred sixty World Title
Boxing Fights were held here. Evel Knievel crashed here, but his son, Robbie
Knievel, didn't. The U.S. Davis Cup tennis matches were held here, along with
Grand Prix's, Rodeos, Hulk Hogan matches, ice-skating finals, Hockey, and much
more. But while most people know Caesars' glorious past, many do not know its
even brighter future. That future has arrived. For, while some new hotels on the
Las Vegas strip add lions, roller coasters, or an art collection of Picasso,
Van Gogh and Andy Warhol. Caesars is the first to break ground with the artist
of the new millennium: Steve Kaufman.
Steve Kaufman is following in the
footsteps of artist LeRoy Neiman. Like Neiman, Caesars Palace has commissioned
Kaufman to paint a master work, "The 35 year history of Caesars Palace." Kaufman was awarded the famous Picasso Ring by the Picasso Academy of Fine Art
in Spain, honoring with the "spirit of Picasso." The New York Times
once wrote, "Steve Kaufman's body of artwork rivals Picasso's at the same
age." The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam even asked Kaufman (the only
American ever asked) to paint a Van Gogh portrait, to be used for its logo
museum poster. For Steve Kaufman -- who once worked with Andy Warhol -- the
future of Pop Art, and now Caesars Palace, is a grand canvass only he can
paint. Caesars hires the Master.
When Caesars commissioned Kaufman to paint a
portrait for Caesars' 35 year history, Kaufman knew he must create something
special. After all, the painting must rival the art being shown at the nearby
Guggenheim Museum and Bellagio exhibit, both multi-million dollar priceless art
exhibits on the Las Vegas strip. Kaufman, who has 14 different bodies of art
styles to his credit, knew he must create a new style. Kaufman calls this new
style, "Museum Art." Through his process of discovery, he is only now
beginning to fully explore "Museum Art."
But should this new Caesars
work be just a painting? Should it be 3D? Or something else? Kaufman mulled
over his own painted icons, such as Frank Sinatra, Boxer Joe Louis, George
Burns, Evel Knievel, and more, to come up with the ground plan for a
masterpiece: A vast 400-foot x 15-foot painting that would incorporate more than
300 icons and headliners in Caesars Palace's past. What's more, the living
icons would have room to autograph the painting, making it the first priceless
Museum Art piece of its kind, which depends upon such interaction from its own
subjects! And this was just the beginning. Truly a masterpiece in the making!
This new Museum Art piece would create not only a new point of view in Pop Art,
but also a historic benchmark for the grandest Las Vegas casino of all -
Caesars Palace.
When Kaufman took on the Caesars Palace
project, he was brought outside of his usual medium, the screen print
canvas, and created a new style in a unique venue, with a challenging viewing
public -- in one of the world's largest and busiest casinos -- while Van Gogh and Picasso works were being exhibited in two rival Las
Vegas hotels. But, like the boxers he depicts, Kaufman not only provides a
knockout punch, he gives his audiences the only true living artistic experience
in Las Vegas. Once again, Kaufman has indeed done it "His Way."
