Haven’t been to Superblue yet? Don’t feel super lame — here’s what you need to know
A room where you can murder flowers like you are Shiva, Destroyer of Worlds. Another space where you can make them grow to atone for your carnage. A room full of clouds that will inadvertently transport you to a foam party at Amnesia circa 1995, minus the hot shirtless guys.
Color. Movement. A labyrinth of mirrors.
This, people, is Superblue.
We admit we didn’t go to the immersive digital art museum, located across the street from the Rubell Museum in Allapattah, when it opened. We were wary. We were cheap. The word “immersive” exhausted us after sitting in our houses for a year. Also, Superblue opened in the spring, when we were emerging confused and hesitant from the pandemic, unsure if we could behave in a normal, non-aggressive way toward other members of our species.
The jury is still out on that one, what with the pandemic still needlessly raging and all, but we’ve grown used to conducting our lives behind KN95 masks. We have Van Goghed once at Ice Palace Studios, once at the Olympia Theater. And this is Miami — we have months of summer ahead. So we went to Superblue to see if a visit to its current exhibit “Every Wall is a Door,” which features seven separate installations, could help quell those We Still Have More Hot Weather/Hurricanes Coming blues.
Spoiler alert: It can, but the experience is not cheap. Here’s what you need to know if you go (and here’s what you need to know about the artists and how Superblue fits into Miami’s art world).
When you enter
Tickets are timed, and there are fewer visitors during the week than on weekends. Most people obey the signs and wear masks, but Superblue does not require masks and won’t intervene if anyone comes in without one (they will provide one if you ask). Thanks a lot, Superblue. This is less of a problem in the bigger spaces, where many people take off their masks for photos, but in the smaller ones you may not feel comfortable.
(Note: loud coughing sometimes reminds dummies to pull up their masks if they’re wearing them on their chins. Deploy this strategy wisely, though.)
Your experience begins under “Meadow” by Studio Drift, an upside-down installation that looks like someone took those eggs in “Aliens,” stretched them into pointier shapes and illuminated them, then hung them from the ceiling. These blooms open and close but do not expel hostile alien babies that latch onto your face, which is nice.
The room with the flowers you can murder
Touch the stems of the flowers as they rise on the wall, and they will fall in a riot of color in “Proliferating Immense Life - A Whole Year Per Year” by the Japan-based collective teamLab, responsible for four of the installations here. Revel in the power. In the chaos of 2021, this is the most control you will have, so enjoy it.
The room with the flowers you can resurrect
Press your hands against the wall of rain in teamLab’s “Universe of Water Particles, Transcending Boundaries” and watch the installation bloom into “Flowers and People, Cannot Be Controlled But Live Together — Transcending Boundaries, A Whole Year per Hour.” Yes, we have read novels shorter than that title. Prepare to use up most of your phone battery in here because it is awesome. Pro tip: Stand in the corner and slowly spin for good video.
On the way out, stop and check out at the framed “Life Survives by the Power of Life II.” We love this small digital masterpiece. But don’t be lame and ask if you can buy it for your living room (people do, museum staff say). You’ll have to settle for a T shirt in the gift shop.
The room where the color will completely disorient you
James Turrell is a light sculptor, which is amazing. HE MAKES ART OUT OF LIGHT. In AKHU you will absorb color like never before (you will also put on a little pair of booties so you don’t mess up James’ work). It’s as disorienting as a Miami driver letting you into ongoing traffic. Note: no photos are allowed in this exhibit.
The maze
Hang on to your booties and watch a short film, then wander through a two-story mirror maze in Es Devlin’s “Forest of Us.” Don’t worry. You won’t get lost. It’s less confusing than the 836/826 exchange.
The clouds
For a $12 upcharge, you can walk through “Massless Clouds Between Sculpture and Life,” which is a) damp and b) blue and c) slightly claustrophobic. You cover your shoes and don a white raincoat with a pointy hood. You will not have to swear fealty to the Grand Dragon. You’ll enter a dark room where you can walk among the clouds (really a non-toxic soap-adjacent substance that may sting your eyes a little). “Walk” is the key word here because if you don’t keep moving, you will be buried alive in cloud matter and may never be seen again.
Note: Because this is Miami, at least 30 percent of you will be wearing stilettos. This is going to be a problem in “Clouds,” which has a grated floor.
To be honest, we’re not in favor of the upcharge. But paying it will give you some fun videos.
One other important note that has nothing to do with art
If you’re hungry before or after your fantastic immersive art journey, walk around the corner, cross the street and do a faceplant in some pulled pork and potato salad at Hometown Bar-B-Que. Be sure to order the cornbread. It’s a work of art.
Superblue
Where: 1101 NW 23rd St., Miami
Hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. (last ticket sold) Sunday–Wednesday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. (last ticket sold) Thursday–Saturday
Tickets: $36-$39 for adults; $34 for seniors, students with ID, military, frontline health care workers; $32-33 for kids; $12 extra to view “Massless Clouds Between Sculpture and Life.” Buy tickets at the door or on www.superblue.com
Parking: Metered street parking or $15 valet
More info: 786-697-3414
This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 6:00 AM.