Diana Thater at LACMA: sci-fi vibes, VHS, and all the colors of the rainbow

Real flowers, artificial lighting, nature, and recreated reality. A transparent line between what’s reality and what’s not. LA based artist, Diana Thater, known for video, film and installation recently opened her newest exhibit at LACMA titled “The Sympathetic Imagination” late last month. Her work features a mix of videos she’s captured over the years.

Thater’s exhibit of large-scale installations is truly something that is worth seeing in person. Each spacious room entails a new, colorful, exciting theme. From playful pink walls strewn with images of dolphins and scuba-divers, to monkeys and everyday people. The combination of wide-open space and quirky film clips makes for a strange, but oddly familiar feeling; a feeling of standing in some kind of utopia. Thater utilizes raw clips of nature by creating contrast with clips that evoke opposite feelings.

Complete with the energy of a materialism that envelopes the present day, concentrated colors, plasticity, and utopian society. From moons splashed with hues of green’s, blue’s, and yellows to garden walls that almost seem tangible enough to pick a flower from. Thater takes her art to another level. She allows the viewer to feel as if they are entering into another dimension.

Thater’s exhibit is included in general admission to LACMA until February. So if you feel as if you’re getting bored on this planet, or you want to explore the depths of your own imagination, I’d highly recommend stopping by. See you in another dimension.