Finally, Rain in LA!
Rain Room was created by designers Hannes Koch and Florian and debuted in London in 2012. It made its way to the MOMA in New York City and opened at the LACMA this November. It’s sold out for months but will be on exhibit through March, 2016. My fiancée and I recently had the privilege of experiencing the Rain Room; it was fantastic to see the collaboration between art and science come together so seamless. It was also an indescribably sensorial experience and-despite the crowds-felt very intimate.
Random International’s Rain Room is an immersive experience of falling water that stops whenever it detects a body. You can navigate your way through the room, trusting that a dry path will follow your steps and the rain will remain all around you. As you enter the dark space, you can hear the strong sounds of falling rain and sense the dampness in the air. Once inside, you are encouraged to walk, pose, collaborate with others and overall experiment with controlling rain. The downpour is choreographed around your movements.
The artwork, which is about 2,500 square feet, features sensors that allow people to walk through falling water without getting wet. The rain is recycled to avoid waste. Around 20 people are allowed into the gallery space for each quarter-hour session. Five to seven people may move under the rain at one time. While it’s not the rain us Angelenos could use right now, hearing the sounds of the drops and seeing the pouring rain all around me did make me nostalgic for Midwest storms and hot cider. Once we were done, we found ourselves still dry and putting on our sunglasses to face the standard 70 degrees and sunny.
I would encourage people to take a trip over to the LACMA to experience the Rain Room and the art museum’s many other wonderful exhibits including a limited time one on the acclaimed architect Frank Gehry. You can also breathe in the tar and see some great fossils at the La Brea Tar Pits down the block. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.lacma.org/.
Nora Sarrawi