Artechouse
It felt like walking into some dark, primordial space. On those narrow winding stairs down, it was like stepping into a timeless place where nothing else exists. We entered a room with a large screen warping around the walls. Projected across it were moving scenes of a city. People were seated across beanbag chairs on the floor, their silhouettes outlined against the blue glow of the screen, gazing upward in contemplation, light wavering weakly across their faces. I remember this moment distinctly in my visit to Artechouse in Washington, D.C.
Set in an industrial city 100 years into the future, the Renewal 2121 exhibit brings together an international group of artists to create an immersive experience that “seeks to inspire hope amid a global pandemic and concerns of climate change.” The exhibit ran as the 4th annual cherry blossom-inspired installation, with Japanese culture and floral motifs threading through many of the pieces. To address the theme of climate change, some pieces incorporate text describing possible futures if we continue at our current rate of consumption, while others reimagine what a future would look like through visual elements.
Artechouse creates immersive art experiences, using technology to design interactive pieces and installations that incorporate the viewer as a part of the art. Many of the pieces are responsive: one piece projects the silhouette of the viewer onto the screen, different parts of a sculpture light up in response to motion, and sounds play as viewers walk by. This fusion of technology and art is becoming ever more prevalent with the rise of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality, changing the way art is both made and consumed.
My experience at Artechouse was a curious one. I don’t find myself deeply affected by art often, and I’ve been trying to figure out what about it was so memorable for me. Maybe it was the shared experience of viewing the art with others, of collectively witnessing something breathtakingly unique. Maybe it was the temporality of the experience that made it special, knowing that my time with the art was limited. Or maybe it was the purposeful awareness of climate change that resonated with me — seeing my silhouette projected into a reimagined scene of the future reminded me of my own role in how things turn out. I think sometimes art’s power lies in its ability to make you forget yourself as a viewer, a kind of escapism. But Artechouse casts your reflection into the art, allows you to move around within it, and reminds you of your place in the world.