The Rain Room in LA
Bone Dry California Enjoys Unique LACMA Exhibition
By: Susan Cohn - Jan 06, 2016
RAIN ROOM AT THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART MAKES FOR A SURREAL EXPERIENCE.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) hosts the West Coast debut of Rain Room, a large-scale installation in which water falls continuously to create an inside downpour that pauses wherever a human body is detected. After entering this surreal environment, an immersive work by the London-based artist collective Random International, visitors move freely, protected from the water falling all around them.
Michael Govan, LACMA’s CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director, said, "Random International produces artworks at the intersection of art and technology. This makes Rain Room a perfect fit for LACMA as we re-initiate aspects of our acclaimed Art and Technology project, which is approaching its 50th anniversary. In Rain Room, the artists who are part of the Random International collective have created a wondrous experience, achieved in an environmentally sensitive manner."
CREATING AN INVISIBLE UMBRELLA
And how does Rain Room work? Tim Rushby-Smith of the Royal Academy of Engineering said, ”The Rain Room installation includes injection moulded tiles, solenoid valves, pressure regulators, custom software, 3D tracking cameras, steel beams and 2,500 litres of water creating a downpour of a thousand litres of rain each minute. All of these elements come together so that visitors are able to experience being cocooned within their own microclimate. A dry zone is created around each person, acting like an invisible umbrella that protects both individuals and groups. Visitors enjoy the unusual sensation of having the waters part in front of them.”
ABOUT RANDOM INTERNATIONAL
Founded in 2005, Random International is a collaborative studio whose work invites consideration of the human/machine relationship with viewers as active participants. Random International uses science and technology to create artworks that aim to question and challenge human experience within a machine-led world, engaging viewers through explorations of behavior and natural phenomena.
PUBLIC TICKETING INFORMATION FOR RAIN ROOM
Rain Room is a specially ticketed, timed-entry experience. Advance tickets are required. Tickets are a $10 or $15 upgrade to an existing General Admission ticket or Specially Ticketed Exhibition ticket. It is likely that entire days will be sold out through advance ticket sales and tickets will not be available on-site. LACMA is working diligently to provide notifications regarding sold-out dates via lacma.org. All general admission same-day sales are on a first come, first served basis, pending availability.
Please check with a LACMA Ticket Office or Member Services table. Please arrive at least 15 to 30 minutes prior to your reservation. Should you become delayed and miss your scheduled time, we unfortunately cannot guarantee a rescheduled visit for later in the day or beyond. Please note that there are no refunds. As are all LACMA galleries, Rain Room is accessible by wheelchair. Wheelchairs are welcome within the gallery.Rain Room is a dark installation space that features falling water.
You may get wet. Visitors are discouraged from wearing dark, shiny, reflective fabric. Shoes must be worn at all times. High-heeled shoes are not allowed inside Rain Room. Personal photography is allowed and encouraged, but, please, no flash. Use #rainroom or tag us @LACMA to share your photos on social media. Please Note: Regular museum hours on weekends are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
During the extended Rain Room weekend hours (8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.) no other galleries at LACMA will be open. General Admission is included in the Rain Room ticket; plan your visit to take full advantage of the museum’s exhibitions and permanent collection. Children two and younger may be carried into Rain Room by a ticketed adult at no additional charge. For more information on Rain Room ticketing, visit www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/rain-room. Rain Room is on view through March 6, 2016.
LACMA PARTICULARS
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, located at 5905 Wilshire Boulevard is devoted to collecting works of art that span both history and geography, in addition to representing Los Angeles's uniquely diverse population. Today LACMA is the largest art museum in the western United States, with a collection that includes over 120,000 objects dating from antiquity to the present, encompassing the geographic world and nearly the entire history of art.
Susan Cohn is a member of the North American Travel Journalists Association, Bay Area Travel Writers, and the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association. She can be reached at susan@smdailyjournal.com. More of her stories may be found at this link.
CREATING AN INVISIBLE UMBRELLA.
And how does Rain Room work? Tim Rushby-Smith of the Royal Academy of Engineering said, ”The Rain Room installation includes injection moulded tiles, solenoid valves, pressure regulators, custom software, 3D tracking cameras, steel beams and 2,500 litres of water creating a downpour of a thousand litres of rain each minute. All of these elements come together so that visitors are able to experience being cocooned within their own microclimate. A dry zone is created around each person, acting like an invisible umbrella that protects both individuals and groups. Visitors enjoy the unusual sensation of having the waters part in front of them.”
ABOUT RANDOM INTERNATIONAL. Founded in 2005, Random International is a collaborative studio whose work invites consideration of the human/machine relationship with viewers as active participants. Random International uses science and technology to create artworks that aim to question and challenge human experience within a machine-led world, engaging viewers through explorations of behavior and natural phenomena.
PUBLIC TICKETING INFORMATION FOR RAIN ROOM. Rain Room is a specially ticketed, timed-entry experience. Advance tickets are required. Tickets are a $10 or $15 upgrade to an existing General Admission ticket or Specially Ticketed Exhibition ticket. It is likely that entire days will be sold out through advance ticket sales and tickets will not be available on-site. LACMA is working diligently to provide notifications regarding sold-out dates via lacma.org. All general admission same-day sales are on a first come, first served basis, pending availability. Please check with a LACMA Ticket Office or Member Services table. Please arrive at least 15 to 30 minutes prior to your reservation. Should you become delayed and miss your scheduled time, we unfortunately cannot guarantee a rescheduled visit for later in the day or beyond. Please note that there are no refunds. As are all LACMA galleries, Rain Room is accessible by wheelchair. Wheelchairs are welcome within the gallery.Rain Room is a dark installation space that features falling water. You may get wet. Visitors are discouraged from wearing dark, shiny, reflective fabric. Shoes must be worn at all times. High-heeled shoes are not allowed inside Rain Room. Personal photography is allowed and encouraged, but, please, no flash. Use #rainroom or tag us @LACMA to share your photos on social media. Please Note: Regular museum hours on weekends are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. During the extended Rain Room weekend hours (8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.) no other galleries at LACMA will be open. General Admission is included in the Rain Room ticket; plan your visit to take full advantage of the museum’s exhibitions and permanent collection. Children two and younger may be carried into Rain Room by a ticketed adult at no additional charge. For more information on Rain Room ticketing, visit www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/rain-room. Rain Room is on view through March 6, 2016.
LACMA PARTICULARS. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, located at 5905 Wilshire Boulevard is devoted to collecting works of art that span both history and geography, in addition to representing Los Angeles's uniquely diverse population. Today LACMA is the largest art museum in the western United States, with a collection that includes over 120,000 objects dating from antiquity to the present, encompassing the geographic world and nearly the entire history of art.