Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: As the Immersive Frida Kahlo show opens, viewers are transported to Mexico City, a metropolis where street vendors sell flowers in front of imposing classical buildings with the Sierra Madre mountains in the distance.
Piercing the serenity of this scene is a thunderous explosion of shattering glass, a visual reference to the day that forever altered the Mexican artist’s life.
7 comments:
This is so exciting! I saw that one of my classmates went and I immediately wanted to go. I love the new trend of exhibits that project classical art so the viewer can see details from within the piece. I think this is even more special fo Frida Kahlo’s work because of how personal her art is. Her work is a narrative of her life and the struggle that came from her sudden, debilitating injury. I’m sad that this reviewer felt that the show was too long, but I think that the usage of VMD to bring viewers a more intimate and innovative view of Kahlo’s work is incredible. Seeing her paintings above you like an onlooking observer emphasizes Kahlo’s work in observation, of others and the self. It gives the piece a look as if Kahlo’s work and life is observing you just as you observe it. I like it.
I am actually the student Sophie is referring to. I went to Frida Kahlo Immersive this past weekend with a friend from out of town. We had a truly wonderful time. As an intended VMD, technology used this way tends to make my heart soar. And in this case, it did… however, I will say the tickets were incredibly expensive, almost unreasonably so. I am rather surprised by the articles statement that the show was 42 minutes. I was there on a pretty slow day and watched the show roughly 2.5 times. I really didn’t feel like it was too long. I suppose time was passing fast, and the show was that enjoyable, which is a testament of the team’s talent. However, I will agree that there seems to be less of a full offering of the art in this space, and I would love to see things such as Immersive Van Gogh and Immersive Frida Kahlo create a more maneuverable gallery that emphasis audience interaction, as opposed to things that feel like an interpretative 360 degree surround film.
This is an interesting take on the Frida Kahlo immersive experience, and immersive experiences in general. I wonder what exactly the purpose of immersive art is, given that this writer did not seem satisfied of it being an art appetizer, as it were. I've been to one immersive art experience myself on Leonardo Da Vinci, complete with projections and music. At the time, I'd had no great exposure to Da Vinci, and so I appreciated the survey of his work. I wonder if this Frida Kahlo exhibit is targeted towards Frida Kahlo fans? Or is it more intended for the inexperienced art enjoyer? My guess would be the latter, given that this writer prefers examining paintings in a museum to this immersive media show. I think that these kinds of immersive experiences can capture the attention of casual observers of art better than a museum, especially because your focus is demanded in a different way by the camerawork and the design of the show.
I went to see the immersive Van Gogh exhibit when it was in town and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. Although I was skeptical about it truly presenting the art in a thoughtful way I was I was pleasantly surprised. I was worried about the show being something more like a tourist trap, but I ended up staying and watching the whole thing a second time through to get a new perspective in the room. I really enjoyed the story the exhibit told about the life of Van Gogh, and based on that exhibit I have high hopes for the same style presenting about Frida Kahlo's life. I love her art and I think that all of the self portraits will defiantly be an interesting aspect of the show. I will defiantly be getting tickets to see this exhibit because of the beauty of her life and the amazing story that it will all tell. I can't wait to see it.
From pictures, these immersive exhibitions are an exciting platforming of work at a large scale. The movement and use of technology modernises the way the art is showcased. I do enjoy the specific use of historic family photos because it grounds the relationship to modernization and the relationship between the audience and Kahlo. However, the main issue I have with immersive art exhibitions is that they do not maintain the integrity and meaning of the art. To be fair, I have not experienced any of these shows in person, but the animation and the changes made to the work alter the piece in of itself. In addition to this, I feel like the scale glorifies the work in a way that prevents people from analysing the work in its historical context–Kahlo is a significant artist who is known for her self portraits, but she is also known to have a complicated relationship with her mixed heritage. The grandeur of it all takes away from the nuance we need when we look at art.
I had no idea they had made an immersive experience for Frida Kahlo & her work– I saw the one for Van Gogh in NYC last summer, and had a good time. I can imagine that both of these, from a VMD perspective, can be really interesting to design or see. I’m definitely curious about how that design process works, because you are essentially taking the artist’s work & life and animating it to be projected onto walls. How do you decide the story you are telling with that? How do you choose the music? I wonder how that process is similar or different to designing a play (because you are taking the playwright’s work and adding elements to it for people to watch, I suppose might be a way to think about it). If I can find the time, I might try to go see this exhibit; Frida Kahlo was the artist who my “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” place setting was based on/inspired by in Basic Design my freshman year, and I would love to see more of her work over a year since I did that project and learned so much about her.
I really liked the actual exhibit, but I hate how the article talked about it. Not that writers aren’t allowed to voice their own opinions but it felt “ah” to read it. I went in thinking I would be sold on the idea but especially after learning that relatives of Kahlo allowed them to use photographs and memorabilia for this only to be shredded apart felt wrong. Anyhow, if it passes through town I’ll see if I can go check it out. I missed out on the Van Gogh one and am a little bit disappointed on that front, so I will make sure to catch this one before. Kahlo’s art is very introspective and graphic so I wonder how it is going to translate on this scale, especially compared to the relatively more mellow and romantic style of Van Gogh. I am afraid they may be leaning in the “touristy” direction here, but I think I’ll just wait and see.
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