Immersive installation: Chicago artists take over Public Pool with ‘Quantum Field’
Public Pool
Sarah Wagner, Christy Matson and Jon Brumit
Artists Sarah Wagner, Christy Matson and Jon Brumit have teamed to create the large- scale, interactive installation “The Quantum Field,” a piece inspired by, and adapted from, the early LucasArts 1989 fantasy adventure game LOOM.

In the game, the only people surviving the apocalypse are weavers, blacksmiths and carpenters. The show opens at Hamtramck’s Public Pool art space this Saturday, July 24. It runs through Sept. 4.

This installation consists of a large-scale print and two sheep, made from conductive- fabric, created by Christy Matson and patterned and sewn by Sarah Wagner, in addition to custom electronics and lighting by Brumit. Through the objects, light and sound, the immersive environment is constructed as a narrative that, in part, mirrors the early graphics of an 80s’ video game to imagine a post-apocalyptic world.

“The Quantum Field” was initially installed as the entryway to the 2010 NEXT Chicago Art Fair. It is the first of two large-scale installations by the artists, both of which will be shown in 2011 Patricia Sweetow Gallery in San Francisco. All three artists currently live in Chicago, and have exhibited at venues worldwide, including the Whitney Biennial, the Fuller Museum (Boston), In-F (Tokyo), Homie (Berlin) and the San Francisco Museum of Folk Art. Brumit and Wagner are also founders of DFLUX (dflux.org) a residency program designed to engage the community with creative actions and workshops. It’s located in the (now famous) $100 house on Detroit’s east side, in a neighborhood directly north of Hamtramck.