In conjunction with the presence of The Mega Collector’s VIP Gallery at ICA LA, LA Times staff writer Carolina Miranda will be joined by the Jeff Weiss Collective for a new rendition of the Prometheus Project; a project in two parts titled PPP1 and PPP2.

About PPP1 and PPP2:

PROMETHEUS PROJECT PART 1 (PPP1)
A REMEMBRANCE IN GREAT BASIN NATIONAL PARK
August 7, 2014 the 50th anniversary of the death of Prometheus

“Prometheus”, a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine, grew at 10,750 feet on Wheeler Peak, in Baker, Nevada. The few locals who’d seen it were responsible for the name. In the summer of 1964, University of North Carolina graduate student Donald R. Curry was on Wheeler Peak with a grant from the National Science Foundation. Curry was a geologist studying the “Little Ice Age” and his interest in Prometheus arose from his belief that it appeared to be the oldest tree available. Curry decided to “section” the tree. The U.S. Forest Service offered their assistance. On August 7, 1964, a Forrest Service saw crew arrived at the site and Prometheus fell. Through examination and a count of the tree’s rings, it was revealed that Prometheus was the oldest known living thing on earth. It is thought to have lived more than 5100 years.

Jeff Weiss Collective designed a digital 3-D model from memories of the living Prometheus to use in the production of a limited-edition snow globe offered at The Remembrance — a day long event on Wheeler Peak.

PROMETHEUS PROJECT PART 2 (PPP2)
THE MEGA COLLECTOR’S VIP GALLERY AND ARTIST TALK
Installation and event at ICA LA

Prometheus Project Part 2 (PPP2) takes the form of an installation titled The Mega Collector’s VIP Gallery and an artist talk on March 23.

The Mega-Collector’s VIP Gallery is a vending machine that contains a limited edition commemorative snow globe resembling Prometheus, the Great Basin Bristlecone pine tree, that met its death in 1964. The snow globes are for sale and are part of an original limited edition. Like an art gallery, visitors may purchase the piece with a swipe of a credit card. All proceeds benefit ICA LA programs. Now is the opportunity of a lifetime for you, the discerning collector, to add this remarkable work to your collection.

For more about The Mega Collector’s VIP Gallery, click here.

Carolina Miranda
Carolina A. Miranda is a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times where she reports on art and culture. She has also been a reporter for TIME Magazine and worked as an independent journalist, contributing to outlets such as NPR, ARTnews and ARCHITECT. She is a regular contributor on KCRW’s “Press Play.” Find her on Twitter @cmonstah.

Jeff Weiss Collective
The Jeff Weiss Collective was formed in 2012 to produce its first and only previous work, Prometheus Project Part 1 (PPP1). PPP1 culminated in the Remembrance on August 7, 2014 in Ely, NV and the Great Basin National Park, marking 50 years to the day of the death of Prometheus by chainsaw. Prometheus was a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine that was later found to be the oldest known living thing on Earth. The Collective takes its name from its oldest member and boss, the artist and former teacher Jeff Weiss, whose career spans many decades, institutions, and locales.