At SuperReal, Moment Factory Turns Cipriani Into a Multi-Sensory Trip

At the new art installation SuperReal at Cipriani, a slice of gilded-age New York is transformed into an immersive visual experience. Hosted by Cipriani 25 Broadway (a building originally opened in 1921), the renowned hospitality group enlisted the visionaries at Moment Factory—who have created breathtaking installations for everyone from Microsoft to Madonna—to use the space as a canvas for digital art. The month-long collaboration between the brands features five interactive spaces within Cipriani’s grand halls, each enveloping visitors in sight, sound, and touch-based works designed to blur the lines of reality. In the main space, digital designs coat the room, intricately caressing the walls, ceiling, windows, and columns to create a distinctive feeling. At any given time you feel like you’re in a video game, or a Disney movie, or a rave with its intricate backdrops designed to create an illusory effect. At one moment it transforms the space to a Renaissance-style cathedral, and at the next it turns into a whimsical, color soaked palette that evokes a Terry Gilliam movie, or more aptly Yellow Submarine (without the Blue Meanies, thankfully). Much of the installation is interactive, using 3D capture to detect motions in carefully placed sections, allowing users to make the space their own responsive environment.

Most people only get to see a venue like Cipriani for black tie galas, but SuperReal allows the space to be experienced by the public in an entirely new way. SuperReal marks an exciting trend, which is taking historic spaces and opening them up for modern art, giving both creators and visitors a new platform that represents the future of experiential design.

SuperReal is on view at Cipriani 25 Broadway from August 1st through August 31st. Tickets can be purchased HERE

[Photos: Zack Franciose]