Colorado River: Artfully Engineered

Showcases the Bold Beauty of Western Water

New fine art photography exhibition opens Sept. 30 at Springs Preserve in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Explore the style and function of Art Deco design in western water facilities through the stunning black-and-white pinhole photography of Cody S. Brothers as the Springs Preserve hosts Colorado River: Artfully Engineered, opening Sept. 30 and running through May 6, 2024. Admission to the exhibition is included in general admission to the Springs Preserve. Tickets are available for purchase at springspreserve.org. Admission for Nevada residents is $9.95 for adults and $4.95 for kids ages 3-17; Springs Preserve members and children 2 and under get in free.

The photos featured in the exhibition reveal the unexpected artistry of pivotal water facilities such as the Hoover Dam, Parker Dam, California’s Iron Mountain and the Metropolitan Water District building in Los Angeles. The federal government built these facilities during the Great Depression and employed architects and artists in their design.

Brothers, a native of New Mexico, works almost entirely with infrared film, using a wide range of cameras, from panoramic to pinhole. Also known as a camera obscura device, a pinhole camera is considered the simplest camera possible—consisting of a lightproof box, film, and a small hole that allows light to enter the box and create an upsidedown image on the film.

Among the exhibit’s images is a seven-minute exposure Brothers took using a pinhole camera of one of “Winged Figures of the Republic” angel statues on the Nevada side of Hoover Dam. “Shot during my first full visit to the dam, the angel statues serve as a lasting symbol of the grandness of the dam’s construction—much like the Sphinx, to the Pyramids, in Egypt,” said Brothers about work entitled Pinhole Angel.

For more information about this and other exhibits and special events, visit springspreserve.org or follow the Springs Preserve on Facebook and Instagram.