It has been billed as the “future of art” by some critics and praised as a way of bringing some of the world’s most iconic masterpieces to a mass audience. But now one of the biggest companies behind the boom in “immersive art” has filed for bankruptcy, suggesting the craze could end up being short-lived.
Lighthouse Immersive is a Toronto-based company known for its immersive experiences of Vincent van Gogh, Frida Kahlo and Claude Monet as well as Disney animations. The company was believed to have sold more than 7m tickets to its exhibitions across 18 cities in North America. Yet in June its forthcoming Disney shows in Houston and Atlanta were cancelled without explanation. Now, according to court documents reportedly obtained by Bloomberg News, the company has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the US state of Delaware.
The company’s touring Van Gogh installation was one of many to use the Dutch artist’s work. Viewers pay to see gigantic reproductions of his masterpieces beamed over gallery walls while being treated to special effects, such as seeing imaginary brushstrokes being applied to Sunflowers or watching the skies of The Starry Night swirl.
Debate has raged over the cultural value of these immersive shows. Writing in the Guardian, Hettie O’Brien described her experience of attending an immersive Van Gogh experience in east London in less than glowing terms: “The show seemed to be trying very hard to cultivate a sense of momentousness, but the overall impression was haphazard, as if its creators didn’t want people to look too closely at the details.”
Art critic Jonathan Jones was even more dismissive of David Hockney: Bigger and Closer, another immersive show, albeit one put together by the artist himself. “It is a dumb contemporary fad that doesn’t – and cannot – capture the beauty of his art,” Jones wrote.
Gimmick or not, there seemed less debate around the fact that these events could generate money. In 2020, the Serpentine’s Arts Technologies programme published a report with ideas for how ticketed immersive experiences could bring the art world closer to the financial model of theme parks. The current London exhibition Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience still runs shows every half hour, six days a week, charging up to £35 for a standard ticket, despite no original works by Van Gogh being on display.
