Immersive Emergence from p8 Keetons are gearing up to unveil the con- cept’s most extensive permanent location in a 6,000-square-foot former gym at 1511 Elm St.. Opening this fall, the space will offer a cocktail lounge sponsored by Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo’s Calirosa Tequila, a gift shop and multiple performance events. And soon, others followed, though per- haps more in the “selfie factory” tradition of New York’s Museum of Ice Cream: Rainbow Vomit, Museum of Memories, The Selfie Bar. The lines between art space and photo shoot set may have began to blur, but through its many iterations, Sweet Tooth continues to comprise installations by criti- cally lauded artists. An immersive concept may have done well for the Keetons, but it also benefited the city’s emerging creative class. Artists who may not have been quite ready for the DMA were still primed to showcase their colorful vision in a single room. And millennials and Gen Z attendees responded enthusiastically. “I was hoping 100 people would show up, and we’d break even, but Dallas was so starved for immersive art the whole thing sold out in one day,” Keeton says. Whether they’re laden with a back story or just used as photo backdrops, Insta-worthy art spaces have a little competition in the form of immersive projection art. In 2018, renowned Italian creative director and film producer Massimiliano Siccardi launched Immersive Emotional Exhibitions with a show exploring Van Gogh’s life through his work (conve- niently avoiding the painter’s pervasive mental illness). As shown on the first season of Emily in Paris, this experience was enough of a suc- cess in Europe that it was brought across the pond to multiple U.S. cities. Dallas got its own Immersive Van Gogh in June 2021, followed a couple of months later by Van Gogh Exhibit: The Immersive Experi- ence in Arlington, which offered virtual real- ity and three-dimensional tableaus of the painter’s bedroom. Unsurprisingly, the com- peting exhibitions confused ticket buyers who weren’t sure which experience they were meant to attend. In the same time span, the DMA brought Van Gogh’s works to an exhibition called Van Gogh and the Olive Groves, featuring the artist’s real-life “olive grove “ painting series. Located in downtown’s Lighthouse Artspace (a former Masonic Lodge), Immer- sive Van Gogh emerged as the winner of the immersive Van Gogh exhibitions and is still running today, along with a rotating roster of other immersive shows from deceased art- ists, including Frida Kahlo and Monet and the Impressionists. Comparing the immersive exhibitions to a showing of Van Gogh’s in-the-flesh work is useless. One allowed viewers to see the brushstrokes of a genius close up from the distance in which he once stood, the other to immerse oneself into his works and colorful Pointilist ecosphere. One shows the finished, historic product; the other emulates, in a sense, his fantastical inner world: the zoom- ing, moving, dancing images come to life. Rather than taking away visitors from the 10 4 Olive Groves exhibition, it’s possible the im- mersive Van Gogh exhibitions introduced the works of the painter to some who Jordan Mathis Local artist Ricardo Paniagua works on a room at the Grapevine Meow Wolf. might’ve never ventured to the museum to see his real works displayed. They are en- tirely separate experiences; it’s like compar- ing an anime movie to the classic book on which its based, it’s apples and oranges — or rather, Magritte’s apples and Kusama’s pumpkins. Next up at the space will be exhibitions devoted to King Tut and The Nutcracker, proving that the experience of being im- mersed in something — painting, classical dance or history — is just as important as the subject matter. One thing you won’t necessarily get from immersive experiences is historical accu- racy. Shows such as Immersive Van Gogh don’t tell an artist’s story in any linear fash- ion. Works from different periods are chopped up and overlaid, and images drift in and out of the screen to a mellow soundtrack ranging from Radiohead to Edith Piaf. The intent is not to walk away with art history 101 knowledge but to digest an artist’s oeu- vre as a dose of mental and aural Xanax. “We don’t want to be the curator of histori- cal accuracy. We want to present a beautiful thing that comes in all forms … in a place where people can move around and be envel- oped by sounds and visuals,” says Leisha Bere- son, vice president of marketing at Impact Museums, which co-produced Immersive Van Gogh alongside Lighthouse Immersive. “There’s a lot going on in the political and emotional landscape, and people are ex- hausted and looking for an escape moment.” Yet viewing art merely as a moment of es- capism has never been what drove traditional curation. Museums and art spaces aren’t anti- immersion necessarily, but it is surprising to discover many curators have never darkened the door of an immersive exhibition or Insta- gram-friendly space. For them, having an ex- hibition or specific piece reach critical mass in the virtual world is a byproduct of their work, not the end goal itself. “I don’t think art museums worth their salt make decisions with Instagram in mind,” says Lucia Simek, director of external affairs at the Dallas Contemporary. “You operate with an art-first attitude, but that doesn’t mean when people enter a museum, they don’t have an opportunity to make it an Insta moment. We’re about to mount [muralist and graffiti artist] Shepard Fairey, and there are two murals on the back wall which have been a part of his practice since way before [im- mersive art] has been a thing, but of course, a visitor will turn it into an Insta moment. It ul- timately benefits the museum because you get attention without having to seek it.” Just as useless is expecting galleries will ever go back to a traditional “look, don’t touch” model and ignore the demand for art made for a screen-dependent generation. While the world changes, the art world will naturally follow, as it always has. Despite its mega-success, Meow Wolf’s Kadublek says the art space has endured its share of criticism. “It’s funny because we will hear that Meow Wolf isn’t real art, and it just makes us laugh,” Kadublek says. “The bigger, more in- teresting conversation is who gets to define what art is. I think it’s a generational effect: The art world has evolved to be more about the market of art, which means it becomes a barrier of entry. It’s also moved into a highly educated realm, which is also a limiting fac- tor over time when the reality is that cre- ative expression is something everybody has. Everyone was born an artist.” In other words, if you’re not into immer- sive art, just don’t, erm, Gogh. And, whether they’re willing to admit it or not, traditional institutions can’t help but nod to immersive trends now and again. Aside from the Con- temporary’s Shepard Fairey: Backward For- ward opening on Sept. 25, the Dallas Museum of Art has launched Movement: The Legacy of Kineticism, which features such pieces as Valeska Soares’ “Vaga Lume.” Visitors can explore the work by switching overhead light fixtures on and off to create a deeply personal experience. Next spring will also see the launch of I’ll Be Your Mirror: Art and the Digital Screen at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, which explores the phenomenon of living through screens from 1969 to the present. Pieces in the show by Nam June Paik and Gretchen Bender presaged our fu- ture predilection for screens and immer- sion decades ago. Says Modern curator Alison Hearst, “Bender’s piece called ‘Total Recall’ was a very prescient work. She totally saw this 24/7 news cycle coming our way in the ‘80s. Adam Berry/Getty Images Infinity Mirrored Room: The Infinite Light of the Universe Illuminating the Quest for Truth” by Yayoi Kusama She called it electronic theater, and it’s com- pletely immersive. Of course, it was created before the likes of social media, but it’s a piece I think people are going to stay in the space for a long time and take it all in.” However you prefer to consume art, both traditional curators and the founders of im- mersive experiences have the same goal — to awaken the viewer’s senses and get them in- terested and engaged in art. “If [immersive art] is the gateway drug, then I think that’s amazing,” says Brodbeck. “What differentiates what we do from the Immersive Van Goghs of the world is we be- lieve in the power of the encounter. All you see with an immersive exhibit is an image of the artwork produced at scale. You lose the texture or the aura of being around the origi- nal artwork. I understand that historically museums have been intimidating. Having exhibits you can interact with is a gateway for someone to go up to our European gal- leries and see an old master on the wall.” Ostensibly in the future, the life cycle of an artist could move from interactive spaces like Sweet Tooth to the bigger budget Meow Wolf to a legitimate place in a respected gallery or institution. Then, who knows? If immersive art builds enough of a legacy, the next genera- tion may experience a future artistic legend’s work on view eternally in the metaverse. Local artist Ricardo Paniagua, who will have a room at the new Meow Wolf, says, “I want to have an immersive Ricardo while I’m alive! I do think it sets art free and makes it less exclusive. Conceptual art is gatekeep-y. We’re like pack animals, so I think the digitization of art is a good thing — it enhances people’s quality of life more than it does harm.” Whatever an art lover’s reason for choos- ing their own adventure, there’s no denying the eye has to travel, and it always will. “I think that people go to see art for all sorts of different experiences,” says Brod- beck. “Some for quiet contemplation and some are into an immersive experience. And we could all use a little magic, especially coming off a pandemic. We’re all looking for those moments of sociability and magic — that’s a basic human need.” MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2014 SEPTEMBER 22–28, 2022 DALLAS OBSERVER DALLAS OBSERVER | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | MOVIES | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | SCHUTZE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS dallasobserver.comdallasobserver.com
