Theme Survey

Another installation is called “California Dreamin’” by artist Won Ju Lim, which was open for viewing at the San Jose Museum of Art from June to September 2018. The work is made out of plexiglass, foam board, and video projections. The plexiglass, arranged in the center of the room, is reminiscent of Los Angeles city buildings. The projections show images of palm trees, California sunsets, and other imagery from the west coast. This combination of materials is especially interesting due to the way the light passes through the plexiglass, creating unique shadows and colors. This work stood out to me because of its inspiration- Lim created it out of homesickness for southern California while living abroad in Germany. This definitely resonated with me since I’m from southern California myself, and it was very interesting to see if Lim and I thought of the same qualities and representations when referring to our Californian home. 

Finally, while this might be more of a tool rather than a work of art, I was very intrigued by a virtual reality application developed by NASA to help astronauts relieve feelings of homesickness. Researchers from Dartmouth’s Digital Arts Leadership and Innovation Lab have been using the Oculus Rift to create immersive virtual environments for astronauts struggling with their mental health while being very far from home (or even Earth in general). While not implemented yet, director Lorie Loeb also talks about adding additional elements, like scents and wind, to trick the senses even further.