25 AUG 2022 • WORK
THE NEXT SPACE FOR EXPERIENTIAL ART IS YOUR OFFICE. HERE’S WHY
Interactive artworks in workspaces can help employees feel more connected to the company – and each other.
Experiential art exhibitions have become hugely popular, thanks to their Instagrammable content and use of technology to amaze in new ways. Klimt, Kahlo and Van Gogh have all been given the ‘immersive experience’ treatment recently, with the latter attraction receiving five million visitors since 2017 and racking up shows in 34 cities worldwide. The art-entertainment sector was valued at over £45.7 billion in 2020, up 19 per cent from the previous year. What could the trend mean for the corporate art world, and why should businesses invest at this time?
Everyone is an artist
Experiential artworks are inherently engaging, whether they respond to movement, sound, touch, weather, time, or a combination of these factors. Part of the appeal of big-budget art-entertainment experiences is that they make art accessible to a wider audience. Sean Di Ianni, cofounder of immersive art company Meow Wolf, told Time Out: ‘There is a role for the traditional art setting but it has built itself on exclusivity. Even in museums, there is a certain way people are expected to engage with that kind of work and it can be a bit dictating and intimidating. We discovered that by blurring the lines of art and entertainment, you are not intimidated walking into it.’
PHOTOS: BRETT BEYER
Cover image and above: Abstract images derived from daily video streams of Chicago landmarks localize the art experience by ESI Design at office 515 N State Street.
In the office or lobby, that accessibility can create a valuable shared moment among the public, and a company’s clients, collaborators and staff. Historian Viviane Moermann, author of The Corporate Art Index - Twenty-one Ways to Work With Art, reflects on why businesses want to bring this type of art into the office, acknowledging the long history of organizations using art to unite their people and express values. ‘The first emperor of Rome promoted artists to emotionalize the idea of empire with glorifying images and words, and the Medici banking family supported the arts to reflect on the changing economic and political system,’ she says. ‘In 2022, corporations reach out for art because it makes the workplace more “human” and promotes the idea of participation, creativity, and individualism – it nourishes the idea that everyone is an artist.’
A sense of time and place
ESI Design is the experience design arm of global architecture firm NBBJ. Its 158-sq-m mural for the lobby of Beacon Capital Partners’ property in Washington DC is a digital montage of the city’s native cherry trees. It responds to the presence of visitors, time of day and live weather data. Visitors pausing in front of it might see icicles grow or butterflies emerge. And a quick walk by might cause petals to fall or a branch to shake. Emily Webster, principal creative and studio leader, wrote in a post for NBBJ: ‘[It’s] an ongoing opportunity to discover new layers of details in the art, with many employees coming to enjoy figuring out how the installation responds and evolves.’
A teamLab-designed installation at CapitaSpring's Singapore headquarters responds to touch, daylight and season.
Using real-time data and references is an instantaneous way to give offices a local feel, which is important for companies operating globally. They can also give employees a grounded feeling and sense of time and place. Acrylicize’s vase-of-lilies mural for Brookfield Properties at Citypoint, London, also blooms and withers according to the weather, and teamLab has a towering floral installation at CapitaSpring in Singapore that responds to touch as well as daylight and season. Nature is a recurring theme in these artworks, giving staff a sense of connection to the outdoors. For ESI Design’s site-specific lobby installation at Chicago’s 515 N State Street, relating to urban surroundings was essential. The artwork continuously composes abstract images made from daily video streams taken at landmark locations around the city. The creative opportunities of digital artworks seem limitless, but Webster warns: ‘Technology must be used as a craft rather than a flashy commodity; the objective, regardless of scale, should be to express a building’s story, helping to anchor it to the community and surrounding neighbourhood.’
Global, local and dynamic
Reactive installations also present a picture of a company as dynamic and evolving. Moermann notices tech companies and car manufacturers in particular experimenting with interactive, immersive and data-driven works. ‘Art initiatives will stay a mix of both traditional and new media art, as most corporate collections represent the past, present and future,’ she predicts. ‘Augmented content, online exhibitions, VR experiences, interactive media walls and NFTs are all popular. Projects at the intersection of creativity and artificial intelligence will be the game changer in developing new immersive experiences.’ Businesses wanting to make a statement in this way need to make significant investment in advanced technology: custom software, powerful projection equipment or large-scale LED screens. It’s clear that more companies are becoming interested in new media art to inspire and re-engage their staff as well as signal progressive attitudes.
A vase-of-lilies mural at Brookfield Properties in London by Acrylicize is also responsive to weather.
Making room for this type of art requires consideration from the outset. ‘Architects and designers should place artworks into their proposals from the start and defend their relevance in the concept,’ says Moermann. ‘Works of art, no matter what, should become a matter of course in every project, not just the cherry on top.’ Webster also thinks that this new wave of experiential artworks should be considered in context. ‘Digital media installations should be seen not as one-off showstoppers. They are most effective as part of a larger program that is fully integrated into the space,’ she writes. ‘A light touch can deliver just as powerful an impact as an epic-scale piece; digital media is just one component of a holistic experience design approach that works together alongside signage, wayfinding, furniture, and other interior design elements.’
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