Wormholes by The League of Imaginary Scientists at MOCA

Wormholes by The League of Imaginary Scientists from MOCA on Vimeo.

(At about 3:30 in the video you can see James and Cassandra!)

On Thursday, January 6 our class met at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles around 7 pm. Arriving at different times, we went through a series of events before entering the wormhole together. Different stations located around the MOCA courtyard provided instructions for our journey, as well as tedious tasks such as receiving a boarding pass and registering it at the computer they provided or on your personal smart phone. Registering the ticket wasted time and was completely unnecessary because after the line for the computer had become too long, an "Imaginary Scientist" came around to write an arbitrary number on your ticket. We were then motioned to wait in a slow-moving, weaving line of at least a hundred people, but luckily a few students had already been waiting and we all joined them in their place in line. Located in the line were themed miniature "wormhole" displays where one viewer could occupy the ridiculous wait time and take a look. I didn't quite understand them, nor did I want to. I happened to look into one that was a cylinder covered in glittery fabric and saw some lights projected on a sock. As much as I tried to believe in the idea of it, I could not fully enjoy these displays and ignored the rest.

After an estimated hour of waiting, all of us students were able to enter to enter the "wormhole" as depicted by a white tent. At the front was a television that told viewers their particles were going to be blown apart and transferred to the other end of the wormhole. This process was carried out by a pathetic gust of air blowing at one side of your head the way a blowdryer would. You would then move through the "wormhole" to mimic images on a television as the "scientists" captured you and sent your particles through the wormhole and out the other end where your image would be projected on a screen and you would play a game to shoot the worms. The controller tool was inverted, and there didn't seem to be a purpose to playing the game, or at least it was not made clear.

All in all, the League of Imaginary Scientists are extremely creative in their ideas and the way they display them. They created an environment that intrigued a curious audience, making art from science, which was the reason for our class attending. Though the wormhole did not fulfill my expectations, I do appreciate the idea of this creation and the efforts into the details. It was an enjoyable experience to participate with the entire class and gave inspiration for our own creations.