The world inside a downtown L.A. warehouse appeared to come back to a halt, and all I noticed was a blur of colours, the place pinkish-red hues bled into shades of yellow and purple. And I used to be shocked at what I felt: rested however not drained. This was a deep, calming state, one during which I used to be conscious however unable to zero in on a selected thought or concern.
Even when just for a second, worries, loneliness and to-do lists felt as in the event that they had been crusing by. All the things I generally tend to dwell on was current but additionally barely out of attain. Though I visited a Chromasonic set up in December, with 2025 off to a disturbing begin — our area struck by devastating wildfires which have displaced tens of 1000’s — I’ve been wanting to return.
Descriptions for immersive experiences in 2025 can have the tendency to sound like psychological well being retreats. Many boast a capability to awash members in awe, immediate restorative mindfulness, alleviate nervousness or to encourage a dopamine launch.
Chromasonic’s downtown Los Angeles exhibit goals to assist friends attain a chilled, introspective state.
(Chromasonic)
And so it was that I discovered myself mendacity on a concrete ground, a small pillow beneath my head and translucent upright slabs surrounding me — aluminum frames with a light-weight, sheer-screened material designed to diffuse mild. I’ve set foot in lots of light-and-sound installations over time and am used to being promised one thing akin to a world of surprise. If all goes nicely, I‘ll see some otherworldly art, maybe get a chance to play.
And yet, at Chromasonic, I didn’t need to go away — or transfer, actually.
Chromasonic is a newly open walk-through artwork set up in downtown. There’s additionally a Chromasonic area in Venice, which launched in 2021 and is a extra intimate, solitary zone. In downtown’s Arts District, the exhibit — Chromasonic Area is its official title — you’re free to wander and will intermingle with different teams, albeit extraordinarily quietly.
I stroll out and in of mini, boxy areas whereas slowly shifting ceiling LED lights make their boundaries really feel barely elusive. A soundtrack of Brian Eno-inspired atmosphere graces the room, audio during which the artificial and human intermingle till it’s unimaginable to discern an instrument. Your entire space is devoted to the transitory.
“What is interesting about Chromasonic is that there’s no cultural context to the sound and no cultural context to the light,” says Susan Magsamen, co-author of “Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us.” Magsamen can be a college member within the division of neurology at Johns Hopkins College, the place her tutorial focus is, partially, on the intersection of the humanities and psychological well being.
“You’re dislocated,” Magsamen says of a Chromasonic work. “It’s not dissonant, but it’s detached. You’re in an suspended space that is very womb-like. There’s nothing to hold on to, to make a pattern about. It’s not designed with a pattern, but it changes. So one of the things it does is it allows your brain to actually rest because there’s nothing to figure out.”
Chromasonic’s creators: Harriet Girardoni, standing from left, and Orpheo McCord; Johannes Girardoni, sitting from left, and Joel Shearer. The area goals to permit us to listen to mild and see sound.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Occasions)
Chromasonic is the creation of 4 artists. Its thesis falls someplace between artwork and science. When requested of its emotional ambition, Johannes Girardoni, 57, co-founding artist and Chromasonic’s head of artwork, speaks of the form of transcendent experiences most affiliate with, say, nature, or fastidiously designed communal environments — an artwork museum, maybe, or, for some, a theme park.
A Chromasonic setting, says, Girardoni, is designed to be one thing of a quick monitor to a meditative state.
“It’s almost like a hack,” Girardoni says. “Your brain and your senses are being activated in very different ways because you’re not finding information — you’re not finding normal narrative and normal reality. Removing all that information — normal physical reality — allows us to move into this expanded, new way of sensing awareness. I would say it’s a very efficient way to get into feeling connected to this moment. It’s a very inward and reflective experience.”
Artwork-wise, there are antecedents. Collaborating with fellow set up artist and companion Harriet Girardoni, in addition to with sound artists/composers Orpheo McCord and Joel Shearer, Chromasonic, at first blush, seems indebted to the work of Los Angeles-born artist James Turrell in that Chromasonic is utilizing mild as considered one of its main supplies. The Venice-based Johannes doesn’t shrink back from that connection, paraphrasing a Turrell quote about artwork enabling us to “sense yourself sensing.”
“What we’re doing, specifically, with Chromasonic,” Johannes says, “is understanding that we can increase mindfulness and mental health — just as a stress reduction. It’s art in service of well-being. That’s the main drive of our work.”
Chromasonic is an immersive artwork present in Los Angeles.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Occasions)
By way of conducting that aim, the Chromasonic crew has been engaged on methods to show mild into sound and vice versa. Johannes speaks of the downtown area finally internet hosting dwell music performances, the lighting within the venue responding in actual time to the musicians. They name this course of “Chromasonic Refrequencing,” and it’s an try to synchronize mild and sound waves, utilizing expertise to visualise these frequencies.
Conceptually, it’s a perception that we are able to see sound and listen to mild. The software program, says Johannes, permits the crew to witness how mild and sound waves increase and contract. Deciphering them is usually a extra impressionistic follow, but when all of it works, says Johannes, a Chromasonic area will really feel as if it’s “living and breathing.”
“Red,” says Johannes, “is a long wave, and violets are a short wave. You can map that to sound. A long wave will generate low sound, if you’re mapping that in real time. … When we compose, we have to be careful. If you’re generating too many different sounds, you’ll get white light very quickly. White light is all frequencies. This is very much about reducing stimulus.”
Researcher Magsamen thinks the Chromasonic crew is on to one thing.
“I think this idea of being radically present marries the other side of the coin to anxiety, depression and fatigue,” Magsamen says. “They’re trying to understand what is noise and what is signal.”
Chromasonic Area can really feel like a blur of sunshine and sound, a liminal area geared toward rest.
(Chromasonic)
As soon as, when feeling particularly down, somebody near me prescribed relaxation. “Rest would be good,” she emphasised, and positive, I went to mattress, however I tossed, turned and usually did something however relaxation. I considered her recommendation whereas mendacity at Chromasonic, for I believe that is the form of relaxation she meant, one the place focus and focus had been freed from the unease they’re usually tethered to.
For right here, all the pieces was barely abstracted — a sonic hum gave technique to hazy combination of lights as I glanced at varied concepts and impressions. I’ve felt peace like this earlier than — a visit to Sequoia Nationwide Park involves thoughts — however what I preferred about Chromasonic was that any sense of place felt distorted.
I knew, in fact, I used to be downtown. And but on this liminal area devoted to emotional drifting, I really felt like I used to be nowhere in any respect.