If you’ve exited the eastbound 215 at Eastern Avenue recently, you’ve surely noticed them—two massive, black-metallic heads rising from the median, as if giants were emerging from the earth. Titled “Norte y Suerte,” they’re the work of Las Vegas artist Luis Varela-Rico, and they mark the final chapter of Clark County’s “Centered,” a 10-site public-art project intended to beautify traffic islands around town with work by Chris Bauder, Kd Matheson and Miguel Rodriguez, among others.
“We started seeing false plants and animals popping up on medians, so this was the art committee’s response—instead of those prefabricated items, to put some legitimate art there,” says Mickey Sprott, cultural supervisor for public art within the County’s parks and recreation department. And the response? “A range of different opinions,” she says. “Some people love the pieces; some don’t understand them. That’s what public art is all about, the start of that conversation.”