The Mercantile Immersive
ArtWorks, now called 1001 Colors, had their annual Art Dinner this evening where they formally unveiled their new brand name and direction going forward. The event was held in the new Mercantile Immersive space—a room I haven’t been in for many years.
The space was most notably the original home of the Contemporary Art Center and the location of the infamous Mapplethorpe controversy of the 1980s before it moved to its current home at 6th and Walnut in the early 2000s. I hadn’t been there since Jay and Lauren got married years ago.
The new space boasts an array of programmable, floor-to-ceiling LED panels that cover the majority of the walls. I don’t know any of the details about how they’re programmed, but the client who paid for the room can use them to showcase custom works and video feeds. While I was there, they had a variety of ArtWorks/1001 Colors pictures and videos as well as animated artwork by Saya Woolfalk (pictured).
As you might suspect, while it looks incredible in person, it’s a challenge to photograph. Getting photos of backlit people without flooding the entire room with flash is not for everyone. The ceiling is black, too, so bouncing light is almost impossible. That said, I managed to do a decent job, and the next time I have a shoot in this space, I’ll be sure to add a little exposure compensation to help with everything.