Entanglement, the first-ever live experience of Entanglement-at-Large, is coming to the Museum of Art and History in Santa Cruz, California this fall for Frequency, a biennial festival of light, sound, and digital culture. Designed by The Epicenter, ‘Entanglement’ uses lasers and sound to create a space for authentic self-expression where the impact of our behavior is instantaneously felt.
‘Entanglement’ has its roots in quantum entanglement. Unlike connection, which implies that two objects act on each other because they are spatially together, entanglement implies that two objects act on each other in spite of being spatially apart. When objects are entangled, the properties of the objects are interdependent even if the objects are far away; in essence, there is no separation between them. Entanglement-at-Large is the perspective that everything in the universe is entangled – there is no separation between objects.
To create an experience of Entanglement-at-Large, The Epicenter envisioned an immersive installation comprised of a geodesic dome, lasers, and sound. ‘As you step into the dome, you are surrounded by lasers bouncing off of 145 vertices,’ explains Allison Paradise, chief executive officer of The Epicenter. ‘Each laser is coupled to a motion sensor, which, when triggered, produces a natural sound related to the environment in Santa Cruz. As you move through the dome, you realize that there is no separation between your actions and the actions of everyone around you – everyone is affecting everything simultaneously.’
Paradise had the vision to create this piece in 2019 after working with researcher and author Dr. Bernhard Kutzler on his book Consciousness. ‘I was trying to explain Bernhard’s theory of Entanglement-at-Large to a friend and suddenly I saw the picture of a geodesic dome filled with lasers,’ says Paradise. ‘When I learned of the Frequency event at the MAH I knew this piece would be a perfect fit.’
The Epicenter assembled a world-class team to create ‘Entanglement’, including Joshua Bauer of Berani Designs, Tony Caporale of Infinitus Vox, Silas De Vries of De Vries Technologies, and Grant Sellers of Strictly FX. ‘This is a unique approach we are exploring by experimenting with lasers and sound,’ explains Tony Caporale. ‘Working on ‘Entanglement’ has us pushing the limits of what’s possible.’
‘Tony received the 2020 Live Design Award for Best Arena Lighting Design for his work with Billie Eilish, so I knew if anyone could create this, he could,’ says Paradise.
Artist, filmmaker, and chief creative officer of The Epicenter Sarah Buckius is making a documentary about ‘Entanglement’ to be screened at the festival. ‘At The Epicenter we primarily work with students, so it’s important for our documentary to speak to children as well as adults,’ explains Buckius. ‘We have created a new documentary format that matches the power and inspiration of the project, while remaining accessible to all audiences.’
When asked how ‘Entanglement’ fits into the larger mission of The Epicenter, Paradise responded, ‘The Epicenter empowers people. We create open spaces where people can behave authentically and in the process come to a deeper understanding of who they are. ‘Entanglement’ is one of those spaces.’
‘Entanglement’ will be on display in Abbott Square in downtown Santa Cruz September 16 – 19, 2021.
