Immersive Installation in LA is Opening Eyes to New Waves in Digital Art
Contemporary art is molding to fit mediums that have nearly unlimited variations due to new technology and brazen expressionism unlike the world has ever seen. Audiences are being drawn to all-encompassing experiences that allow them to feel as if they are part of installations. One venue that is taking these concepts to a whole new level is the Wisdome.LA, an art park consisting of five large air-conditioned domes that engulf visitors in 360 degree multi-media art with projection mapping and surround sound. Located in downtown Los Angeles, the venue houses a variety of artists, musicians and events of all kinds. I recently traveled to LA for the opening of a new exhibition at Wisdome entitled SAMSKARA, which will be up until the first of March. SAMSKARA is the inspiration and visionary art of Android Jones. January 11th marked the unveiling, as well as an all night extravaganza titled NewVisions 2020. The event was hosted by Visual Reality, an immersive event collective exploring the intersection of art, technology, and consciousness.
NewVisions 2020 was aimed at being a one-night only festival encouraging people to check out the new exhibition while also engaging in a full-spectrum community reception. At any point throughout the night there was something exciting to be a part of, including VR “voyages”, insane 3-D visuals, live painting, psychedelic music and performances, a full-circle outdoor bar, food, shopping vendors, and submerging cymatic sound baths! Visual Reality is the product of Michael Strauss (visual artist/VJ), Torkom Ji (music producer/sound healer), and Anshul Pendse (software developer/immersive designer). Together, these three are an unstoppable trio determined to create functions that aren’t available anywhere else and are other-worldly in nature. Many of the people I spoke to at the event described their time by saying it planted unforgettable memories, setting the scene with never before seen art forms.
The key to Visual Reality’s success since its creation in 2016 has been a strong focus on collaboration and experimentation. Strauss, Ji and Pendse proudly promote independent artists, developers and creators in order to bring unique perspectives to the foundation they laid down. These three entrepreneurs pride themselves on having been involved with over 50 installations and special events across California since their company hit the ground running. Wisdome.LA has been open a little over a year and the Visual Reality team has been working closely with the venue since its opening, producing immersive events in the domes every month or two. In fact, Michael Strauss is at the venue consistently for live visual performances at their request due to the fact that he is one of the only 360 VJs in the world. For those of you who aren’t familiar with a VJ, they are visual and projection engineers who manipulate video projections rather than music samples.
There were several features brought to NewVisions 2020. Strauss and Ji spoke to me about what some of those were and why they stand out amongst fellow innovators in the industry. As the lead producers of New Visions, Strauss and Ji curated all of the exhibits and performances, while contributing much of their own work as well. In the main 360 degree projection dome, Strauss was piloting the ship on video controls all night ; meanwhile, Ji came in with a powerful live set of original electronic music. Quantum Harmonix is a one of a kind sound-based meditative and healing technology. The powerful tones lead one through an effortless and powerfully restorative experience invoking relaxation, and expanded creativity. Long lasting improvements have also been described, such as improving sleep quality and productivity, while simultaneously decreasing stress.
“The music is layered live and explores acoustical phenomena, white/pink noise, low-mid-high range frequencies; all folded into a tapestry of real time musical compositions,” producer Torkom Ji said.
Another major feature of New Visions 2020 was the Augmented Visions art exhibition, demonstrating new forms of expression using projection mapping and AR software. Curated by Michael Strauss and featuring sound design by Torkom Ji, the exhibition featured digitally-enhanced visionary art from an amazing lineup of innovative visual artists coming to life before your eyes. Walking through the domes, I took note of just how entranced and ruminant people were at the hands of these two artistic architects. Sprawled out in reclined cushions, all of the senses were stimulated. It was truly the most relaxing way to experience art and music that I have ever witnessed. Visitors put their faith in these unseen puppet masters, allowing themselves to be led through a multiverse of creative dimensions.
When I asked Strauss and Ji what their goals were for this event, they told me that New Visions was about bringing together many different communities under one domed roof for an auspicious night of collaboration and celebration. They undoubtedly accomplished what they set out to do, seeing that all tickets were sold out for the night and guests gave the exhibit rave reviews and recommendations. Pop-up shows such as this are beginning to dominate the art scene around LA, as well as in major cities across the country. Although, limitations often arise when it comes to urging people to revisit. Wisdome.LA and similar art exhibition/performance space hybrids are coming up with solutions to that problem. As Strauss put it, “The novelty of an immersive art experience combined with a more traditional live venue, with lots of different shows, gives people a reason to keep coming back and allows a community to develop.”
The Visual Reality team has a long list of productions in the works for the upcoming year and they are definitely a group you want to keep your eye on. Despite being based in LA, they bring their unique installations across state lines to as many festivals and venues as possible. If you’re lucky, you may catch them in a city near you!
