Educational Media Reviews Online

The Death Valley Project is a fascinating video program that explains the process used by the Belgian sculptor Albert Szukalski (1945-2000) in his creation of “The Last Supper” near the remains of the town of Rhyolite in Death Valley. The sculpture is of a series of white, fiberglass over plaster and fabric hooded figures linked together, representing the last supper. The hooded figures are without faces or other anatomical attributes. The people living in the area were used as models for the concept of the sculpture. Some of the most interesting segments of the film are the interviews with the townspeople who served as models. How Szukalski worked with Leonardo Da Vinci’s fresco of the Last Supper translated to a desert environment is fully explained. Also, the creation of the actual sculpture is fully documented. We see the techniques used beginning with the interviews, continuing through the draping of individuals with wet burlap to model the sculpture, and finally the actual creation of the work. While not the first sculpture to be erected in Death Valley National Park, Szukalski’s sculpture is certainly one of the most striking given the background of the desert and mountains.

The production values of the DVD are of a very high quality, and for the most part, the photography is well done. Some of the conditions were extreme, and the heat alone makes filming difficult. But the film works well, and provides an intimate view of the creation of a work of art. The DVD also documents some additional sculptures including the “Lady Desert: the Venus of Nevada, 1992,” by Dr. Hugo Heyrman, “Icara,” by Dre Peeters, “Chained to the Earth,” by David Spicer, and “Tribute to Shorty Harris, 1994,” by Fred Bervoets. “The Death Valley Project” is highly recommended for both public and academic libraries, and as an individual purchase for art historians, Western art scholars, and sculptors.