Back in the spring, I had come across ARTECHOUSE on Instagram, and after living vicariously through their posts, I decided to make a quick 30 hour trip last week to Miami to experience the exhibit in-person.
ARTECHOUSE redefines the concept of the museum by fusing art and technology for a truly interactive experience. The Miami exhibit, titled XYZT Abstract Landscapes by artistic duo Adrien M & Claire B, treats the space like a digital playground where visitors are encouraged to touch, move (and even blow air!) at each "station". No longer is the visitor a passive observer, but rather, they become a creator within the space, as their movements affect the exhibit's visuals.
As soon as I landed at 10AM, I rushed to my hotel to drop off my bag, grabbed a quick breakfast, and power-walked a few blocks to the ARTECHOUSE building.
I was immediately welcomed with an interactive "mat", where each of my footsteps created ripples across the projection-mapped lines.
The exhibit spanned across 2 floors, and each station had a supporting video to explain the inspiration behind each work. I liked that each inspiration started with a question that seemed to challenge the boundaries of the physical world as we see today, such as "Can you catch a shadow", or "Can we see something that is nothing"? The video then proceeded to show some of the design and tech processes used to create the work. I also learned that some of these works had been used as part of a dance performance -- talk about a whole new dimension to stage design and performance arts!
The 1st floor included a digital take on the funhouse mirror and several tactile stations. One of my favorites was getting to push and drag piles of letters cascading down a screen, and being able to feel each bump as letters piled on top of each other.
The 2nd floor had a matrix-like station, with letters and symbols projected on several screen walls, and the visuals dispersed or moved along with the movement of my body. I also enjoyed the digital sandbox, where I could pinch, swirl, and push digital sand across the glass pane. And the most memorable experience was blowing into a clear "aquarium," and seeing the letters float around as if they were really being blown and moving underwater.
The final experience was a pop-up book that unveiled elements of surprise with an AR app. When looking through the app, what was a normal black and white image became animated, and an otherwise plain page of text revealed hidden letters and graphics.
I had never experienced anything like this before, and I was in a state of awe and wonder the whole time (which I can only suppose was one of ARTECHOUSE's experience goals!). With technology and physical space providing endless possibilities of an experience, I came to think that the future of art is immersive, and I'm excited to be on the lookout for more of these experiences.
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