![]() Those creators never matched the level of public interest Meow Wolf set off like a firecracker when it opened in a former bowling alley in Santa Fe in 2016. Immersive art can feel new because it is trendy now, but it has a rich past, going back to early work by perceptual artists like James Turrell and Yayoi Kusama (her “Infinity Mirror Room - Phalli’s Field” was in 1965) or by adventurous theater companies like Punchdrunk, whose 2011 interactive “Macbeth” adaptation, “Sleep No More,” challenged ideas of what a play could be. Meow Wolf announces all 13 of its food vendors for Convergence Station If Meow Wolf actually is art, I struggle to find meaning in it. Instead, it is the brand’s trademark spookiness that defines the place. There are plenty of places to contemplate fine art in a city like Denver but few offering the retreat Meow Wolf provides, and maybe individual recognition is something artists and critics value more than the public does.īut letting the local work and the intention of the artist who made it stand out might have been the thing that gave Convergence Station its own identity, a purpose beyond simply offering shock and awe, and distinguish it from the other Meow Wolf sites. ![]() That anonymity is a choice on the part of Meow Wolf, which emphasizes collaboration and resists breaking the fourth wall, and maybe it’s the right one when it comes to giving customers what they truly want or need right now to escape a particularly stressful world. Work by those and other artists whose creations I’ve always found hopeful, vital and connected to community felt invisible here. And I did recognize contributions from respected local names - a light sculpture by Collin Parson, a mural by Jaime Molina, an inflatable by Nicole Banowetz - but couldn’t find any signs on site crediting their efforts.Īs a result, their pieces are swallowed up by the overall bigness of the theme park and, in effect, rebranded to fit the dark and spooky Meow Wolf mode. The company involved 110 Colorado artists in this project, giving each a bit of real estate to show their wares and paying them for their efforts. Immersive installations like Meow Wolf bill themselves as art, but they fit better into the category of entertainment venue, more like Disney World than MoMA. But is it good art? (David Williams/The New York Times) “Convergence Station,” the company’s third installation, may be good business. It is possible that I tried too hard the real thrill of Meow Wolf comes not in wrapping your mind around its enigmas but in letting its 90,000 square feet of enigmas wrap themselves around you.ĭavid Williams, The New York TimesA guest climbs through a wall at Meow Wolf’s “Convergence Station,” location in Denver, Sept. In the end, I spent another $9.50 in the gift shop for a slim paperback that got me nearer to understanding Eemia, Numina, Ossuary and the other peoples and places that make up this scenario. I paid $3 for a wallet-size Q Pass that activated digital screens dispensing clues. I explored secret corridors, read text, watched animations and asked the actors/workers for help. ![]() If I don’t have the story arc correct, it is not for a lack of trying. One story, for example, involves a bus driver named Pam, who once steered her vehicle into Convergence Station and vanished. There are subnarratives that explain it all - if you can add up the clues. Somehow these elements come together as Convergence Station, an interplanetary transit hub where different worlds connect but where “Earthers” remain outsiders. Visitors can sit behind the wheel of futuristic cars, flip through books in a pretend library, wander into a neon cathedral with a playable pipe organ or enter a beauty salon, pizzeria or grocery store, each with its own surreal twist. ![]() Tuesday, December 12th 2023 Home Page Close Menu ![]()
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