The visual phenomenon will transport the viewers Chicago Riverwalk to other planets and stars.
It has been several months since Chicago has been treated to the stunning art spectacles that light up the facade of the Merchandise Mart. This week, the beloved projections are returning for a Spring 2021 Program in collaboration with Adler Planetarium that will take viewers on a universal journey.
From this Thursday, April 1, Art On The MART will fire up all 34 digital projectors and once again breathe life into the 25-story-tall face of the Merchandise Mart.
The Mart will launch the world premiere of ‘Astrographics’ at approximately 9:00 pm on Thursday followed by a second showing at 9:00 pm.
According to the Art on the MART website, Astrographics will “explore ways in which humans conceptualize and visualize their universe, and how that has changed over time. The piece will consist of four movements (Earth, Other Worlds, Stars, and Beyond) which will transport the viewer from Earth to other planets and stars, then out to deeper and more speculative realms.”
The scientific visualizations are based on real data showing the scale of the universe and have been produced by the Adler Planetarium. A mind-bending amalgamation of moving images have been woven together with imagery from the world’s telescopes and will be accompanied by music from the Sun Ra Arkestra archives from the Experimental Sound Studio.
There will also be a reprise of the ‘Monet and Chicago’ and ‘Bisa Butler: Portraits’ – the collaboration with The Art Institute of Chicago that lit up the Merchandise Mart from November until the end of December last year.
The 30-minute shows will run nightly at 9:00 pm and 9:30 pm from Thursday, April 1, through July 4, 2021. All visitors who head down to the jetty section of the Chicago Riverwalk between Wells and Franklin Streets must practice social distancing and wear face coverings while viewing the projections.
For those who prefer to view it from home, there will be a live stream of the launch on the Art on the Mart’s Facebook page.
[Featured image from Art on the Mart]