teamLab Planets Day!

Following some refreshing free time in the morning and afternoon, we met up as a class in the evening to visit the teamLab Planets art exhibition in Odaiba. I had always seen pictures of teamLab Planets on social media and thought of it only as a place where people could take cool pictures for their Instagrams a la selfie museum pop-ups. However, finding out that the exhibition was actually an experimental full-body art installation, I was very excited to see what we would experience. 

After an hour-long trip to Odaiba, we arrived at the holy land. We were all so very excited to rip our shoes off and dip our dawgs in the water!

The exhibition was divided into 2 main sections, water and garden. The water one was personally my favorite as it involved many textures that stimulated my sense and engaged my entire body. The textures involved harsh and sitting waters, and rough, soft, and smooth floors. It was truly an experience to engage audio, visual, and kinesthetic senses across a 3D space— the pictures cannot capture the magic that was felt in person.

Reflecting on the experience, I begin to think about how this type of art pushes not only the boundaries of how we consume art but how we experience and interpret our everyday lives. In an interview with WIRED, Takashi Kudo puts it this way:

“If I go to a museum and I see art hanging on the wall I don't feel any connection to it, it's just a painting on the wall. However, if you're part of the art, if you play an integral part, then you can connect with it”.

The way that teamLabs pushes the boundaries of what an art exhibition has allowed them to communicate feelings and beauty that would be hard to communicate with just 2 senses alone.

I think of the connections this exhibition had with the use of technology in modern Kabuki. While the Kabuki show we saw did not include higher-tech features, I wonder how it would be to actually experience one with the projections and holograms. In the way that projections in teamLabs were able to highly immerse us in art, perhaps it could also further supplement the storytelling abilities of a traditional Kabuki. How can this experimental digital art connect people? 

Kudo sums up his interview by saying that they “want to make a city itself become art…”. This notion to me is very inspiring. If we think of art as not only a visual or audible format but as an experience that is integrated into the design of the physical environments, I wonder how the relationships between art and our daily lives can change. Perhaps we can start seeking a more meaningful place out in a sometimes monotonous fast-paced life.

Anyways,,, fun day :D