Rectangular and windowless, the Tutor Campus Center's ballroom pales in comparison to USC's often stunning spaces. However, the mundane space didn't deter the crowds of architecture students and art lovers that filled the dark basement on Tuesday, Feb. 27, for a discussion of light, space and the human experience with Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson.
During the sold-out event, hosted by USC Visions and Voices, Eliasson discussed his past projects, intersections between architecture and art that escape traditional definition, as well as his current project, "Reality projector," on display at LA's Marciano Art Foundation.
"Art has the ability to change our intellectual prism," Eliasson said. "It disrupts convention [between] the world we know and the imagined world."
This fascination with challenging standards is evident in his previous work, including The Weather Project (2003) at London's Tate Modern, Ice Watch presented at the 2015 Paris climate change conference, as well as in the newly-opened "Reality projector." Eliasson believes that visitors should create their own art by walking through it, and in this, "Reality projector" succeeds.
In "Reality projector", "you become an author and co-author," Eliasson said. "The situation relies on a trust that you will take ownership."
Much like the ballroom in which he spoke, the exhibition room for "Reality projector" lacks any defining architectural features, and Eliasson utilizes this 13,500 square foot blank canvas to create an interactive experience for each participant. Using a projector, Eliasson beams highly saturated magenta, cyan, and yellow light in moving patterns through the ceiling beams and onto a white screen situated at the far end of the room. Two sets of black curtains line the exhibition's entrance; before going in, participants must wait 20 seconds between the two sets to allow their eyes to adjust to the darkness of "Reality projector."
After pulling back the curtains, one steps into the room itself, the back end of the exhibition. Above, a high ceiling is illuminated by the projected light, and in the distance, the light projections move across a giant white screen. Except for a few benches near the entrance, there are no clear places that distinguish the participant from the artwork, and one can choose how close or far they wish to get to the illuminated screen at the other end.
Determined to absorb all meaning the piece has to offer, I sit cross-legged on the barren floor and close my eyes. Eliasson weaves in mechanical sounds with the changing of the colors, and it is a show of mastery that these noises can also stand alone. In a world filled with chatter, there is something both powerful and haunting about a silence punctuated by only one track.
The ephemerality that Eliasson weaves into "Reality projector" is what gives the exhibit the power to live up to its name and offer each person a glimpse of their own reality. Each moment offers something unique, and each individual brings in their own preconceptions. With the lack of explanation, Eliasson unapologetically forces people to actively engage in art, to be not passive receptors but active participants. As Eliasson noted in Tuesday's talk, the viewer becomes the projector of their own reality, a true connection of body and brain.
On the elevator out of the exhibition, I struck up a conversation with an older man about the nature of works such as Eliasson's.
"This is the art of the future," he told me. "When you enter the exhibit, you are confused, disoriented, so you must take control. These artists are forcing the viewer into a position of action."
The exhibition both eludes definition and forces all who enter to search for meaning. "Reality projector" requests an interpretation driven by one's own views, a particularly skillful technique in our ever-polarized world. By establishing differences through action, Eliasson gives "Reality projector" the power to build community and, one hopes, establish a framework for a more collaborative future.
Reality projector is on display at the Marciano Art Foundation through August 2018. Tickets are free, but should be reserved online here before your visit.