Stepping into a dark hallway, you are enveloped in blackness. The air fills with harmonizing melodies and celestial sounds. Before you is a floating cube, its surface rippling in cascading light that undulates like an effortless wave.
As you step further inside, you are given the choice to venture into a variety of immersive experiences, including a crystal universe, a morphing kelp forest and a room filled with virtual butterflies.
The teamLab exhibit at the Pace Gallery in Menlo Park, open from Feb. 6 to July 1, features a blend of art and technology that encapsulates the Silicon Valley atmosphere of innovation. Rooted in traditional Japanese art, the exhibition highlights how technology can enhance art instead of replace it.
According to the teamLab website, "teamLab operates from a distinctly Japanese sense of spatial recognition, investigating human behavior in the information era and proposing innovative models for societal development."
Liz Sullivan, director of Pace Menlo Park, says Pace has established a new program entitled Pace art + technology which is being inaugurated by the works of this exhibit.
“The new program is dedicated to showcasing interdisciplinary art groups collectives and studios whose works explore both art and technology,” Sullivan said.
The show is in a large space featuring various multi-room environments.
“The show spans over 20,000 square feet and showcases 20 different installations,” Sullivan said.
Since the teamLab exhibit will be one of the last few exhibitions to be featured in the space, as the Pace Gallery will be moving to downtown Palo Alto, the immersive experience is not to be missed.
Crystal Universe
The Crystal Universe is one of the most engaging and transcendental art pieces in the gallery. The teamLab aims to use art and technology to make the line between the viewer and the artist ambiguous, in order to transmit the feeling of “becoming” part of the artwork itself according to Sullivan.
This is particularly true in the Crystal Universe, a maze of spiraling crystals enclosed between two mirrors. The world created here seems to stretch out into infinity.
To further immerse themselves into the experience, visitors are encouraged to use their phones to control the shimmering universe. A link will quickly lead to an array of different planet inspired universes where each produce a different spectrum of colored light.
This was a surreal experience filled with beautiful lights and colors. Walking through the room transports visitors to an alternate universe filled with lights of all different colors.
Crows Chase Crows
Crows chase crows is easily the largest exhibit at the gallery. The multiple screens throughout the room string together a dazzling spectacle of light and flying birds.
Guest are encouraged to find a space on the floor and enjoy the five-minute show. In the dizzying experience birds practically leap off the walls, threading their way through colorful vines and jumping from one screen to the next.
Butterflies Flutter Beyond Borders
One of the most memorable rooms is the uttering Butterflies Beyond Borders. The carpeted area is home to millions of virtual flying butterflies and blossoming flowers. The combination of a comfortable carpeted area to lay down in and natural ambient sounds creates the perfect springtime vibe and brings a certain air of warmth and relaxation.
According to the Pace gallery website, the room aims to exhibit a period of continuous change – one hour marks the seasonal year of a flower blossoming. Neither pre-recorded or a loop, the art is rendered in real time by a computer program and the same state will never be repeated.
The teamLab believes that the combination of art and technology can demonstrate change and growth in a way that static sculpture can't quite translate. The fluttering butterfly exhibit is a perfect example of that, simulating the process of birth and decay through the flowering petals and vibrant butterflies, marking the coming and going of spring.
The gallery did a beautiful job of taking visitors into an alter flower universe filled with intricate flowers popping off of the walls and tranquil music to further enhance the experience.
The teamLab “kids” exhibit is a great place for kids to unleash their inner artists as they draw and play with their creations on a large interactive screen.
This exhibit really takes creativity to the next level, enabling kids to not only create but also interact with their creations. Technology is often accused of inhibiting children's creativity, but the teamLab enables kids to physically interact with their own imaginations.
Kids can bring their drawings to life on a large screen by scanning them with a QR code. Other exhibits in the teen zone include a virtual city and a world building wall, where with the touch of a hand characters will emerge on a large screen creating different stories to watch.
The exhibit was so much fun because it played with imagination and technology capturing the beauty of playing make believe as a child and putting to life on a screen.
Despite clearly not being the target audience of this exhibit it is easy to get lost with the pastels and animated creations illuminating the wall.
According to employee Marco Haraldo, the ability to interact with their drawings is really important because it gives kids a sense of accomplishment.
“[Kids] get to see their drawings interact with them and interact with each other,” Haraldo said.
The gallery is a perfect place for people of all ages to lose themselves in the magnificent blend of technology and art. The tickets are ranging from 7 to 20 dollars. The student ticket is $15 with a student ID.
The Pace gallery is an established contemporary art gallery representing more than 70 artists in places like New York, London and Beijing. TeamLab is located on at 300 El Camino Real in Menlo Park.
