In 2014, Poetic Kinetics brought to Coachella the iconic “Escape Velocity,” a giant white-suited astronaut that became the most photographed subject at that year’s festival. This week, in a kind of sequel, Shearn brought a new astronaut piece called “Overview Effect,” its spacesuit now stained with color and other artifacts from a journey across the stars.
The interactive artwork, with an 8-foot-wide video screen serving as the space helmet’s visor, rolled slowly across the grass. Last weekend, the face of retired astronaut Chris Hadfield appeared on the screen, speaking of watching the world from orbit, followed by filmmaker David Lynch, who intoned: “Experience the source of all space and all time, and realize that the individual is cosmic.”
