最初に投宿したヴェネチアンは快適なホテルだった。ロビーアーケードは天井画をよく見ると稚拙さも感じるが、まるでイタリアから移植したかのような優雅さで、しかも香りが心和ませてくれる。部屋はセミスイート構成でゆったりしている。ショップが並ぶ広場に足を運ぶと、空は夜でも人工のスカイブルーで、ゴンドラが行き交う運河までしつらえて、自分がネバダの砂漠の上にいることを誰しも忘れてしまう。
現在ベガスで最も豪華なホテルのひとつベッラジオもそれに引けを取らず、ホテル前に巨大な池が作られ、15分おきに噴水が立ち上がる。この手のショウを始めたのはミラージュが先輩だ。館内ではロビー近くに温室をテーマにしたディスプレイがあり、その鮮やかさに目を奪われる。大きな如雨露からはふんだんの水が草花にかけられている。ギャンブルからリゾートへのシフトを何年かかけて遂げてきたが、ここは本物が存在しない世界で、世界のどこかから拝借してきた模造品が並ぶさながら遊園地のようである。それが逆に無理矢理の開発を推し進め、ベッラジオの隣にはまた1000億円を注ぎ込んだ巨大施設が作られている。
この砂漠にこうして水と電気を際限なくいつまで供給できるのだろうかと僕は疑問を禁じ得ない。そしてそれをひたすら推進しているのが人間の欲望であり、この楼閣の姿は人為的な欲望の集合体のように僕の目には映る。同じレプリカの寄せ集めでも鳴門の大塚美術館は規模も可愛いし、それなりの意義があるように思える。
Artificially Magnificent Tower of Desires on Desert
How can I say about Las Vegas? The original concept of this blog was a collection of recommendable things, but I wrote some negative phrases about an airliner recently. At least, the suitcase topic was a good start. And then regarding the destination of its trip, my comment tends to be bitter because the place does not appeal to my taste inherently.
The first hotel was the Venetian and it was excellent. (No quote for the second.) The lobby arcade architecture was truly gorgeous (although the touch of ceiling painting appeared slightly primitive in a closer look), and the elegant scent effectively calmed our heart. And furthermore the room was spacious with semi-suite layout. Approaching the piazza of shops, the sky is fictitiously blue all the time even during the night and a grand canal is built in it with gondolas. One will easily forget actually standing on the desert of Nevada.
More aggressively, Bellagio, probably one of the most fabulous hotels now in Vegas, has a huge man-made pond in front where the attraction of fountains takes place every 15 minutes. Mirage started the same years ago. Near the lobby is a charmingly colorful space of fairy tale botanical garden where up-scaled watering pots poor water on the flowers incessantly. Vegas has shifted its focus from gambling to a resort in recent years, but it is a world with no genuine things like an amusement park gathering replicas from all over the world. And its contradiction is this recent direction drives further developments. Next to Bellagio is another 900 million dollar construction going on.
I cannot but raise a question: how long could this unlimited supply of water and electricity on the desert continue? All this is being pushed and pushed by the human desires, and the entire tower on the desert looks to me like a mere collection of artificial desires. When it comes to collective replicas, Ohtsuka Museum near Naruto City is much tinier in scale but seems representing some value in it.
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