Art doesn’t have to be painting. Artechouse’s New Nature is a digital display of dazzling colors and changing forms that please the eye and inspire new interpretations of the ecosystems and organic processes all around us.
The immersive experience uses your movements and gestures to awaken creatures and plant life in an LED kelp forest, which leads to a 24 foot tall evolving organism, and into a 3D digital menagerie of nature-inspired beings.
By waving a finger in the petting zoo, the insects, plants, creatures, landscapes and planets in the 13 interactive virtual terrarium stations come alive. Shimmering shapes emerge, evoking the sense that something is actually rising from the depth of the ocean.
This creative and playful audio-visual exhibit is the work of a digital artist and technician, Mateusz “Marpi” Marcinowski, who used gaming’s Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game platform to create organically-inspired virtual worlds for a game that all ages can play.
New Natureruns at Artechouse (1238 Maryland Ave., SW) untilJanuary 13, 2019. During All Ages Daytime Admission on Sundays-Thursdays, there is a “Family Package” option that allows for one adult and one child at 20% off (ages 2-14). More information can be found at dc.artechouse.com.
By Sheila Wickouski