Okay, it’s not exactly Schrodinger’s cat. It’s an actor dressed up as a cat, just one of the many surprises that pop up in this surreal virtual tour of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the winter home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Produced by multi media artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, – they represented Canada at the 2001 Venice Biennale – Thought Experiments in F# Minor uses an iPad with headphones to lead the viewer on a 40-minute self-guided architectural tour. Schrodinger, by the way, is the Austrian physicist whose theoretical experiment with a cat (look it up) suggested people can give different accounts of the same series of events and mixing it up between what’s real and what could be real is exactly what the video is all about.
iPad in hand, we follow the camera’s point-of-view up to the empty second floor lobby. But what’s this? The pre-recorded video shows a couple in a spirited discussion. The bartender is pouring drinks. The video takes us to an empty rehearsal hall and suddenly there’s a cluster of practicing musicians. Schroeda, the human cat, is on hand to tell us of a murder in the underground garage.
“We like that idea of the overlapping of time,” says Cardiff about overlapping realities, the real-life scene in front of you plus the on-going story pre-recorded at the very same spot. “I think the magic happens when you really try to synchronize yourself,” says her partner Miller.
Commissioned by the LA Phil, Cardiff and Miller were given carte blanche to document the Hall’s role and purpose. The result is an immersive multi-sensory experience that mixes actuality with performance to take us beyond the building’s physical walls, wood paneling and red carpets. Thought Experiments in F# Minor is a cultural experience in its own right, a fitting complement to Frank Gehry’s 15-year old titanium masterpiece. iPads and headphones are free to the public and can be picked up from the Concert Hall’s lobby from now through to 2024.
Here’s an excerpt from the tour.