Why simply look at art when you can be part of it? Last month, travelers Michael Powell and Jrgen Horn shared their fun photographic adventures at The Trick Eye Museum in Busan, South Korea where they basically had a good time taking entertaining pictures of themselves interacting with three-dimensional paintings. Similar interactive exhibitions that display these types of fantastic optical illusions the duo documented can also be found in China, currently on display as part of the 2012 Magic Art Special Exhibition, where the audience has the power to transform into the performer.
The public serves as more than just mere spectators and are invited to interact with the art, adding a new level of entertainment to each person's experience. We know kids like to play, but looking through any number of images of visitors at this exhibit proves that adults enjoying playing just as much as minors. It's interesting and funny to see how happily involved all of the participating attendees are and the creative choices they make.
While some people may simply pose for the camera with a generic smile, these works bring out the actor in people who really sell the fabricated situation. No one is just placing their hands on a painted wall and awkwardly smiling at the camera. They're fiercely tugging at a leash with a dinosaur on the other end, looking up at the dragon whose fire-breath they're extinguishing, and taking a real hit from a high-kick. The visually realistic exhibit seems to brings out the committed thespian in us all.
If you're eager to experience it in person, the exhibit is currently on display at Hangshou Peace International Exhibition and Conference Centre in Hangzhou, China and runs through August 6, 2012.
