Technology has always pushed art forward. The innovation of getting paints into a metal tube is a great example; previously paints had to be mixed in the studio which limited the mobility of the artist, resulting in mostly still life and portraits. With the happy coincidence of paint being available in tubes and the proliferation of the train, artists lit out into the streets and out to the country. Some never went back. Lo and behold the Impressionists blossomed. Monet, thank you for your garden in Giverny.
Fast-forward through the decades and we have the Laserium, Yoko Ono and Brian Eno.
Those three especially come to mind at WNDR, an immersive gallery with installations in Boston, Chicago and San Diego. Unlike the recent burst of immersive experiences celebrating a particular old school artist where you essentially select one place to sit or stand, and the artist’s work swirls around you, at WNDR you move from room to room experiencing a variety of installations. Leveraging art, sound, light and ultimately technology the WNDR visitor is happily confronted with the perennial questions of what is Art, what is Entertainment and how those answers often come together. Whether it is Speak Up! or Iris, the result is enjoyable, especially for older folks watching youngsters react to the unexpected. Invariably, there is an AI driven installation. The more specific your prompt, the more satisfying the result. Indeed, that is the case wherever AI is making its ubiquitous incursion in our lives.
One of the most beloved works of art in the collection of Buffalo’s Albright-Knox is Lucas Samaras’s Mirrored Room. I was put in mind of that experience as a kid in Boston. “Our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos,” Yayoi Kusama said in 1968. Nearly 50 years later she created Let’s Survive Forever, an even more mind-bending mirrored room. Visitors are only allowed about 60 seconds in the room, as the sense of vertigo can be surprisingly overpowering.
Visiting WNDR is a delight, and I look forward to providing a report from San Diego and perhaps Chicago.
More information here.
Recent Comments