Interactivity has the potential to transform art and music into transcendent displays of creativity and artistry. To make an individual feel part of the medium itself is an accomplishment worth writing home about.
It’s hard to believe that the Meow Wolf has done just that, infusing the aesthetics of multiple art styles together for a cohesive experience that’s as remarkable as it is unique.
Since 2009, the Meow Wolf art collective has been liberating New Mexico with videos, lights, colors and sound. The movement is known for its unconventional means of artistry, like using geodesic domes for its 2010 “Geodesic” piece and utilizing 50 lbs of glitter for its recent “Glitteropolis” piece at NMSU.
Now the art movement has taken over Santa Fe with what is perhaps its most outlandish exposition yet: a vacant bowling alley turned Alice-in-Wonderland rabbit hole of fantasy, technology and adventure.
The piece, eponymously called Meow Wolf, is a giant museum that individuals can interact with as they journey through it. The attractions follow a narrative involving a fictional family who encountered a dimensional vortex that animated their dreams into reality.
The story is told through the environment, in which participants are invited to wander and explore. In total, there are around 100 rooms to go through. Participants begin at the home of the fictional family, littered with various secret passageways to other “dimensions”.
All of Meow Wolf’s technology and aesthetics blend together seamlessly, bringing to life an interactive experience unlike any other. Objects on the wall burst into music when touched, video screens look back at you from walls and mirrors, and audio terminals are placed throughout the building to expand on the story.
Santa Fe native Galen Hutchison has been working early on the project doing video production.
“I met some of the Meow Wolf folks downtown here in Santa Fe a while ago,” Hutchison said. “They needed help doing video, and by then I’d been doing a lot of independent film production. I directed most of the second unit videos involving the story line, and was the assistant director for the more abstract visuals seen on the mirrors and stuff.”
Hutchison’s work is displayed throughout the exhibit on multiple computer screens and televisions that continually broadcast fictional TV shows and infomercials related to the Meow Wolf story.
At the end of Meow Wolf, it’s not unusual to hear live music being performed. The final room, The House of Eternal Return, doubles as a venue for live bands and holds shows most weekends.
Artists that played this past Friday include Thieves & Gypsys, Lindy Vision, Red Light Cameras and Summon. The sold-out show spanned over five hours, much to the delight of the passionate crowd.
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After their performance, Red Light Cameras front-woman Amanda Machon noted how the aesthetics of the venue had a part in energizing the audience.
“That’s always my favorite, when the crowd is going crazy and singing with us. When everyone is all kind of breathing together, there’s nothing like it,” Machon said. “It was made because the audience is so great here, this place has that kind of vibe to it. When they reached out to us to play here, we were immediately down to do it.”
Meow Wolf is located at 1352 Rufina Circle, Santa Fe. Tickets range from $13 to $20 and music performances are held on Friday and Saturday nights.
Audrin Baghaie is a culture reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
