The Creators Project: Last summer, DIY music and art space The Smell received notice that the Downtown LA building it occupied since 1999 had been sold to developers and was slated to be demolished. It would have to find a new location. Music video director Vice Cooler, who played at the all-ages club many times in bands like XBXRX and Hawnay Troof, knew he might not be able to save the venue from eviction, but wanted to do something to help. He asked his friend, film director Gil Kenan, to help him make a virtual reality film to document a place that has been so important to them and countless others.
2 comments:
This kind of art is one of the many reasons I feel lucky to have grown up in Los Angeles. I remember hearing that the Smell was being shut down and I could not believe it. It's no Hollywood Bowl or Greek Theatre, but that's what makes it stand out in my mind. It's the hole in the wall of music venues; cheap tickets, unheard of bands, and the most unique experiences. This video is one of many attempts to take art and use it to save the Smell. Just last month there was event held in Los Angeles where big bands that started at the Smell got together and held a concert to raise funds to save the Smell. I think this video is a really compelling piece of art and form of protest. It shows the true essence of the Smell and the Smell experience. It shows what good art and good company can do for people. All and all, it shows just one of many reasons why Los Angeles needs the Smell.
This is really cool. I think it is so important to document important spaces. Spaces are not always preserved. Sometimes they can be destroyed by either natural causes or manmade. The application of virtual reality mapping of spaces is endless. It would give people access to a location and even experiences that are currently out of reach. It would also allow us to preserve places that could where the deterioration of said places is out of our control. If we had virtual reality documentation of Broadway houses it would allow people who don’t have access to see a Broadway show to experience a sliver of what a theater in Broadway is about. That was the whole purpose behind documenting The Smell, to have the capability to hold the atmosphere and the feeling of the place in cyberspace for the rest of time even thought the physical space isn’t there anymore. Another example where VR would be really cool is to have a virtual reality map of the polar ice caps. I think that would be so amazing because as we know they are melting and soon they may not be there so I think it is important to keep a visual of the beauty of the endless cold alive for the generations who may not get to see it. This would also give the rest of us the opportunity to really experience the ice caps because most people don’t have the actual opportunity to visit the ice caps themselves.
Post a Comment