'Levitated Mass' Exhibit At LACMA Draws Crowds

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The "Levitated Mass" exhibit featuring a 340-ton granite boulder drew throngs of people to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) when it opened to the public Sunday.

The exhibit, the brainchild of notoriously reclusive artist Michael Heizer, opened at 11:30 a.m. It followed a ribbon-cutting ceremony which Heizer and his wife attended.

Heizer first conceived the idea in 1968, but only discovered the right boulder decades later.

"At the end of the '60s was his first attempt at work called Levitated Mass and that was unsuccessful. He's been waiting over 40 years to realize this project," Miranda Carroll of LACMA told CBS2's Cristy Fajardo.

The sizable boulder's journey from a rock quarry in Riverside to the Miracle Mile was a slow and steady journey over a span of 11 nights.

» PHOTOS: Giant Rock's Journey to LACMA

It culminated on March 10 when the rock finally arrived at LACMA and has since been transformed into a floating art display.

The display is a feat of engineering and in the event of an earthquake, may shift a bit, according to Carroll.

"It's actually sitting on two little shelves and the walls, either side of the boulder, going down are reinforced. They did seismic tests, they've done everything. It's very, very safe," she said.

Museum admission will be free until July 1 for those living along the rock's transport path.

To see if you qualify, visit LACMA online.