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LA museum unveils artist’s big rock work

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LA museum unveils artist's big rock workVisitors view Michael Heizer’s "Levitated Mass" at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles, on Sunday June 24,2012. Thousands showed up as the gigantic work was unveiled on the museum’s rear lawn, where it is intended to remain forever. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)(Credit: AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The rock was the star as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art pulled the covers off artist Michael Heizer’s latest creation — a 340-ton boulder positioned to appear as though it’s floating in midair.

About a thousand people showed up under sunny skies as the gigantic work titled “Levitated Mass” was unveiled Sunday on LACMA’s rear lawn, where it is intended to remain forever.

Its centerpiece is the two-story-tall chunk of granite that was hauled 105 miles from a Riverside rock quarry earlier this year. Since then, the rock has been carefully positioned above a 465-foot-long trench that museum visitors can stroll.

The 67-year-old Heizer, who rarely appears in public, was on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and led the first procession under his work of art.

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