Located in Manhattan, New York, the Dream House is located in an unassuming third-floor apartment located Down Church Street in Tribeca, Manhattan. The Dream House is easy to miss if visitors are not actively looking for it, the street-level door is unmarked hence visitors need to seek out a black door with a cryptic white sign inscribed THE DREAMHOUSE. When visitors enter they are met with magnificent neon pink reflections of light and calming fluctuating sound waves, it is not the typical Dream House with a four-door garage as visitors may imagine.
The Dream House is known as a light and sound installation. An installation is a form of art whereby they are 3-dimensional mixed media art, occupying the entire space they are in, for example, sound and light can occupy an entire room. It is often site-specific and can not be moved around like other forms of art like paintings. The Dream House is occasionally used as a performance venue.
The Founders Of The Dream House
The scenic Dream House was created by the married couple; minimalist music composer La Monte Young and the multimedia artist Marian Zazeela in 1993 and is the culmination of 40 years of their artistic work. Minimalist music is a form of music whose process follows strict rules and requires that the listener focuses on the internal processes of the non-narrative music. It consists of repetitive pulses and patterns with a consonant harmony and repetitive musical phrases with phase-shifting involved.
La Monte Young and Zazeela are experts with an extensive resume skillful in working with instruments, styles, and lighting. This allowed them to explore scenes and places in search of new sounds and light techniques. Their career began in the 1950s when ng began playing the saxophone in the outsider jazz scene, he managed to get major gigs with Don Cherry, Billy Higgins, and Eric Dolphy with whom he had lengthy tours with each. After the tours, La Monte Young had developed a keen interest in experimental electronics and he adopted Arnold Schoenberg’s version of the 12-tone-technique, which was a piece originally scored for violin, viola, and cello, to compose his 1959’s Trio for Strings. This piece is particularly focused deeply on individual pitches also known as drone theory and has often been cited as the Big Bang of minimalism in music.
What To Expect Inside The Dream House
As visitors enter the Dream House they are met immediately by a smoky apartment with an overwhelming smell of incense. The smoke makes the neon sign on the roof appear fuzzy. The sign reads "The Dream House" in back-to-back and in forward and backwards script. Usually, visitors are never alone when they visit the Dream House, there may be about six or seven people in various meditative poses just standing or sitting around in the well-carpeted rooms. Meditation pillows are available for visitors and there are numerous video installations to watch as well.
The Dream House is a relaxing space located in an area in New York City where there is much overcrowding and overstimulation taking place. It offers its visitors a dramatic change in the scenery where time seems to escape into what is called a psychoacoustic phenomenon". The music heard by visitors changes based on their location in the room as well their posture. The sounds heard when lying down are different from those when one is standing up, they also vary with whether the visitor is in the back or front of the room. It is this phenomenon that immerses visitors into an environment that triggers a subconscious awareness through the use of sound and light.
Paper And Light Illusion By Choi
There is a huge piece of paper that covers the far wall of the apartment which emits multicolored light through numerous pinprick holes which resemble a butterfly. Choi, who created the paper art, ensured that an optical illusion was formed such that the shape formed by the pinprick holes appeared continuously from a distance.
The Cost And Times To Visit The Dream House
- The Dream House runs on a donation basis and visitors are allowed to spend as long as they like. The Dream House is supported by Dia Art Foundation and as for the rent in the pricey Tribeca, the landlord of the building is fond of the cause of the installation.
- The Dream House is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 2 pm -12 am.
- Check the website for exhibition dates, the Dream House may have something for its visitors
What Visitors Must Know Prior To Visiting The Dream House
There are a few notes to consider prior to visiting the Dream House, these are:
- As visitors enter they must remove their shoes
- Visitors are required to maintain complete silence
- An air conditioner is available, as it can get a bit stuffy.
- Unfortunately, the Dream House is not handicap accessible.
Covid 19 Precautions In 2022:
- Following WHO guidelines such as:
- Properly wearing a mask in the Dream House
- Washing hands with soap and water or
- Sanitizing hands are a sure way to reduce the chances of infection prior to entering the Dream House.
Visiting the Dream House can be a blissful and immersive experience. For art lovers and minimalist music enthusiasts, the Dream House is literally like a magnificent dream. It offers all its visitors an opportunity to be immersed and enthralled in a world that allows for a complete sensory engagement. Inside it feels like 1985, then visitors step out, back into the real world in 2022.