Aug 7, 2019 Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Announces Fall Offerings: Crystals in Art, North Forest Lights, and an Infinity Mirrored Room Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art announces three new experiences coming to the museum this fall: a new acquisition, Infinity Mirrored Room—My Heart is Dancing into the Universe by Yayoi Kusama; Crystals in Art: Ancient to Today, a new exhibition exploring the connections between crystals and art throughout the world; and North Forest Lights, an immersive nighttime light experience created exclusively for Crystal Bridges. “With the breadth of these new must-see offerings, Crystal Bridges is excited to bring visitors together to explore elements such as light and crystals through art, and in the museum’s natural setting,” said Rod Bigelow, Crystal Bridges executive director & chief diversity and inclusion officer. “We can’t wait to share the brilliant work of Kusama in an intimate space, expand the conversation of crystals while highlighting local connections, and provide an exclusive outdoor light experience unlike anything we’ve ever seen.” Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room—My Heart is Dancing into the Universe Crystal Bridges recently acquired Infinity Mirrored Room—My Heart is Dancing into the Universe, 2018 by Yayoi Kusama. This artwork is an enclosed room filled with mirrors and dotted paper lanterns that change color. This effect makes it appear like the dots expand forever into the universe. Kusama is a contemporary artist who makes paintings, sculptures, performances, and installations. Dots are a common theme throughout her work—a pattern that she has utilized in her work since she was a child in an effort to escape trauma and anxiety. Crystal Bridges acquired another artwork of hers in 2018, Flowers That Bloom Now, which can be found in the North Forest. The Infinity Mirrored Room will be located in the Contemporary Art Gallery. A timed experience will be available to members from August 31 to September 30, and to the public on October 2. Each participant will be allowed to view the installation for one minute. More information and tickets can be reserved at the Infinity Mirrored Room exhibition page. Crystals in Art: Ancient to Today October 12, 2019 to January 6, 2020 Crystals in Art: Ancient to Today is the first exhibition of its kind to explore the connections between crystal and art throughout the world, spanning history and geography. The exhibition includes a selection of crystal specimens, and over 70 works of art and objects from Ancient Egypt up to the present day, and addresses recurring themes in the history of crystals such as science and religion, art and medicine, aesthetic beauty and transformation, and more. This is the first time that Crystal Bridges has explored the medium of crystal, and the museum is expanding past American art in this exhibition to understand a full story of crystal and the various roles the element played across the world throughout the course of history. This expansive focus also allows the museum to showcase these works of art in Arkansas, the only location in North America where large-scale mining of quartz crystals takes place. Crystals in Art is co-curated by Joachim Pissarro, director of the Hunter College Galleries and Bershad Professor of Art History at Hunter College, and Lauren Haynes, curator of contemporary art at Crystal Bridges and curator of visual arts at the Momentary. The scope of this exhibition ranges from objects from Ancient Egypt and Rome, to China, Europe, and more, including contemporary artworks created in the past few years, with featured artists such as Andy Warhol, Marina Abramović, Ai Weiwei, Alexis Arnold, Olafur Eliasson, Cindy Sherman, and more. The exhibition features artworks of all sizes, from small crystal sculptures to large-scale installations. Tickets and more information, available at the Crystals exhibition page North Forest Lights October 26, 2019 to February 16, 2020 North Forest Lights is a nighttime, multimedia experience in the middle of the North Forest unlike anything Crystal Bridges has ever done before. Created exclusively for Crystal Bridges by Montreal-based multimedia and entertainment studio Moment Factory, five distinct installations will bring the soul and rhythm of the forest to life with light, sound, and sensory effects for a captivating, unforgettable adventure. Each encounter that visitors will experience on their walk through the Ozark woods translates nature’s secret music and hidden communication into a symphony of light and sound. The experience invites people to reconnect with nature and art while helping them to feel part of it. Inspired by their first foray in the southern US, Moment Factory designed this experience by using the environment of the museum’s surrounding forest to create five distinct installations. The five distinct installations that will come to life with light, sound, and special effects are: Crystal Grove – pixels of light appear through the trees in jewel-like fragments. The Bridge – visitors will become enveloped in fog as lasers and lights give the illusion of water and mist flowing through the forest. The Hearth – visitors are drawn to gather and commune around a digital fire pit, where a sculpture made of tree limbs and twigs appears to float as it is consumed by flames. The Hearth evokes the region’s spiritual heritage with hymnal and gospel rhythms and melodies that conjure a transcendent communion in the woods. Whispering Tree – visitors are invited to engage in private dialogue with a massive tree as lighting effects respond to the conversation, for all to see. Forest Orchestra – like an orchestra tuning itself into harmony with its surroundings, visitors will experience a variety of music styles from our region’s ragtime, to bluegrass, folk and classical traditions, which will be enhanced by a light show, to inspire a spirit of celebration. Coffee, hot cocoa, snacks and more will be available for purchase in North Forest Lights which will be located in the first loop of the North Forest. The experience will be open in the evening hours, after sunset. North Forest Lights will not be traveling to any other locations and cannot be experienced anywhere else in the world. Tickets and more information will be available soon at crystalbridges.org. Infinity Mirrored Room—My Heart is Dancing into the Universe is funded by David and Cathy Evans Family. Crystals in Art: Ancient to Today is sponsored by Avant Mining, LLC, James Dyke and Helen Porter, Blakeman’s Fine Jewelry, Frank and Pat Bailey, Morris Foundation, Inc., Kyle, Maury and Finn Peterson, and JT and Imelda Rose. North Forest Lights is sponsored by the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation. Created and produced by Moment Factory.
