A VIRTUAL REALITY DARK RIDE
Virtual reality is here to stay and with it comes a new generation of artists creating dynamic immersive experiences. VR Monster Truck is an adapted amusement park ride with nearly 200 feet of track and three electric trucks that pull visitors through a computer-generated landscape. This kiddie ride might travel at one mile an hour, but the experience is shocking, exhilarating and truly out of this world. Seattle-based Brent Watanabe is our first featured digital artist, and is certain to be the ride that the art world is not prepared for. Our visitors enter at their own risk and watching their experience might be an equally rewarding spectacle.
Set Designer Marcos Everstijn created the MONSTER facade, setting the stage for the VR ride as you wait to board. It builds a sense of anticipation and nostalgia, prompting speculation about what lies beyond the wall, while conjuring the playful tension between reality and illusion. The black and white palatte blends with the gallery and mirrors the nature of virtual reality, inviting the imagination to fill in the unseen details.
A special thank you to Jason Reinhardt who spacially mapped the track and was instrumental to the techincal function of our 40 year old ride and Gene Ellerby whose electrical engineering brilliance brought locomotion to our modified monster trucks – reimagined by sculptor Michael Leavitt .
