JESSE CARSON SMIGEL: P3STUDIO
Press Release
JESSE CARSON SMIGEL
WIN, LOSE OR HAVE FUN!
October 14 – November 8, 2015
Hours: Wednesday & Thursday | 5 – 10PM; Friday – Sunday | 6 – 11PM
P3Studio
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
3708 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, in partnership with Art Production Fund, is pleased to announce P3Studio artist-in-residence Jesse Carson Smigel. In his residency project titled Win, Lose or Have Fun!, Smigel will draw on his skills as a sculptor, designer and scenic carpenter as well as his proclivity for whimsy to bring “Game Show Night” to The Cosmopolitan. The engaging experience will feature nontraditional interpretations of the well-known shows Jeopardy and Family Feud in which guests will be invited to be contestants.
Smigel will construct a mock Jeopardy and Family Feud set that incorporates software and electronics to simulate a game show experience similar to televised versions. Smigel’s version of the game shows, titled Jeoparody and Familiar Fewd, will feature hundreds of hand-crafted pun questions and a bevy of hosts including The Ringmaster, Valejo, Carson Johnny and many more. Guests will have the opportunity to participate in live games for the chance to win fake prize money they can spend in the prize store. Designed to resemble the ticket redemption counter at a skee-ball arcade, the store will feature prizes in the form of unique thrift-store curiosities.
Onced described as a “Desert Mad Scientist” and often referred to as the “Pirate”, Smigel is a theatrical carpenter, scenic artist and sculptor practicing out of Las Vegas. An artist whose inventions range from the disarmingly eccentric to innocently fun, Smigel loves to both entice and confuse with his creations. Whether it’s an 8-foot-wide beetle head in his front yard, a 6-foot moon face with a rocket in its eye or a 10-foot cat sculpture sticking its tongue out at passersby, Smigel’s innate sense of drama and flair for the unexpected make his works both arresting and enticing.
The artist-in-residence program at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas represents one component of its larger art program, in which artists create projects that are interactive and participatory, giving guests the opportunity to connect at an authentic and personal level. Developed and curated in partnership with Art Production Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to producing ambitious public art projects, it strives to reach new audiences and expand awareness through contemporary art.
