An art engulfing journey

“Garden of Water” by Ran Hwang from 2010. Photo courtesy of the Des Moines Art Center.

DES MOINES, IA (PNAN) – On view through June 5, 2022 at the Des Moines Art Center, the exhibition, “Immersive” intends to welcome the viewer into spaces that surround them with art, using not only visuals, but also sounds and the suggestion of movement to create a unique sensory experience.

One space will feature “Ascension” by Bill Viola, in which hypnotic blue light and underwater sounds enhance a film both pensive and hopeful.

Another will contain the “Garden of Water” by Ran Hwang, whose playful and sparkling installation, the light reflects of thousands of crystal sewing pins as video-projected rain showers and spiderwebs fall around the space.

“We Carry Space and Time Within Us” by Matthew Willie Garcia. Photo courtesy of Matthew Willie Garcia.

A third space features an installation by Kansas City-based guest artist Matthew Willie Garcia, whose combinations of three-dimensional prints on paper and video projections deal with transcendence and alternate realities.

In the Bookey Gallery, Des Moines-based multimedia artist and Toni and Tim Urban International Artist in Residence, Oyoram presents a room of LED monitors that will transport the viewer into a surprising, ground-shifting experience.

While the work in this exhibition comes from the 21st-century, artists of all kinds have long traditions of building multi-layered environments for people to experience. Nonetheless, Immersive showcases works of art that provokes emotion and imagination as well as the eyes and ears and provides a place to step fully into the art itself.

Viewers will discover and have the opportunity to step into worlds beyond our own, taking in the beauty and spectacle they have to offer, such as * medieval cathedrals filled their massive aisles with stone sculpture, incense, song, and the glow of light through stained glass. * Claude Monet installed his giant Water Lilies in a circular gallery, allowing visitors to feel as if they had walked into his garden. * Popular culture is filled with immersive experiences, from haunted houses and amusement park rides to 3-D movies and virtual reality video games.

For more on Immersive as well as upcoming programming at the Des Moines Art center, see: www.desmoinesartcenter.org.

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