Issue No. 14 - Welcome to Issue No. 14 of "The Experientialist," where we’re still young enough to be trendy but old enough to know better. The number 14, in the mystic art of numerology, represents an energetic interplay of creative spontaneity and disciplined pragmatism—a vibe we’re channeling as we balance wild artistic impulses with the sobering reminder that, yes, deadlines are a thing.

With its roots in historical traditions, 14 has been a marker of transformation—there are 14 stations in the Via Crucis, pointing pilgrims toward epiphany, and in engineering, it’s the number of days in a fortnight, which is just enough time to regret online purchases. From the philosophical musings on the cyclical nature of life and rebirth, such as the 14 life stations in Sankhya Philosophy representing the impermanence of things—to the mystical tradition of Kabbalah, where the number 14 is represented by the word יד (Yod-Dalet), meaning "hand" and symbolizing the means through which we interact with the world and create our realities, the number 14 serves as a compelling framework within which we can explore the parallel intersections of design, technology, commerce and culture through a lens of ancient wisdom and contemporary insight.

In this Issue No. 14, we'll dive into the aquatic theater of "Sea of Love" at Phu Quoc, where elements aren’t just elements—they're performers in a liquid symphony orchestrated with high-tech flair. We'll listen for the lingering reverberations of Impressionism, which is not only celebrating a century-and-a-half of artistic rebellion, but also still manages to make blurry trees look like the height of sophistication. We'll wander through "The Copper Palace," where every penny tells a story, and witness holographic Elvis swing his digital hips, and announce that the King never left the building.

So, pour yourself a metaphysical martini and prepare to mix a little existential inquiry with irreverent banter... and an olive or a twist. We're not just chasing the next big thing in art, tech, commerce and culture—we're also occasionally catching it, tagging it, and releasing it into the wilds of your imagination.

Take my hand, intrepid reader, as I guide you through the multifaceted landscape of "The Experientialist," where every article is a brushstroke in a larger picture of engaging discourse, philosophical depth and creative expression. Come for the insightful conversations, stay for the chance to see if Elvis’s digital ghost can still rock a jumpsuit. Let's unravel the threads of design, tech, commerce, and culture, stitch by numerical stitch, and perhaps find that the sum of all parts really does tell a greater story.

So off we are, here were go, let's dig in...

Glass and Sass

In an audacious display of defiance against the laws of practicality, the Floating Glass Museum dares to combine buoyancy with opulence, making it the only museum where you might get seasick. Curci’s creation is like Venice met Vegas, gambled on sustainability, and won the jackpot. Here, glass isn’t just half full, it’s fully sustainable and floating, which really should be a contradiction but somehow isn’t. This museum is not just on the edge of contemporary design, it's floating right off it, proving once and for all that architects really just want to show off how much they hated playing by the rules at Legoland. Conceived by the buoyant minds at Luca Curci Architects and an international crew, and some artificial intelligence that probably questions its own career choices, the museum is scheduled to float by several cities affected by climate change, such as Dubai, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Busan, intending not only to shift the currents of our attention towards sustainability but also daring to prove that, yes, architects can indeed make waves without a single brick in sight. Parametric Architecture (3 minutes)

Sea of Love

Let's keep up the water theme for the moment. Watch out Broadway, in the ever-evolving tableau of multimedia spectacles, "Kiss of the Sea" at Phu Quoc isn’t just another show, it’s an experiential enigma that baffles as much as it bewitches with its daring blend of theater and tech. Creating a spectacle that’s as confusing to some as it is captivating to others, this artistic cocktail of myth, media, and water—lots of it—includes the world’s largest water cascade screen lit up with a tale as old as time, all while a live orchestra and a DJ battle are set afire, literally—think Shakespeare meets Star Wars in Southeast Asia. While art purists might be puzzling over the definition of "performance art," this show in Sunset Town might just be the only place where a story of elemental love can literally soak the audience. Shout out to Michael Jung for always spotlighting truly grand spectacles, wherever on the globe they pop up! Blooloop (13 minutes)

Rebel Brushstrokes

In 1874, a daring ensemble of brazen artists decided to give an artistic middle finger to the conservative Salon de Paris, shocking the stuffy Right Bank avant-garde scene with their wild strokes, vibrant blobs and insultingly "ordinary" scenes that they dared call art, launching the Impressionism movement with what was essentially the first pop-up gallery. Critics scoffed and called it mere "impressions" of art. Now, 150 years later, Europe is commemorating this art rebellion with Impressionist-themed festivals celebrating everything from Monet's watery blobs to Renoir's blurry people, showing that time does heal all artistic insults (even if it still leaves them confusingly out of focus). From posh exhibitions in Paris to messy painting classes in Normandy, the celebrations are everywhere, commemorating a time when critics sneered, calling the works unfinished, but nowadays, we just call them priceless. Euronews (4 minute read)

The Copper Palace

When life gave Albino Carreira screws and metal plates in his spine, he gave the world a house covered in 350,000 pennies. This Canadian's unique approach to physical therapy involved transforming his newfound downtime into an "immersive art exhibit." His house is now a coin-clad wonder, its shiny facades dazzling visitors eager to see how many pennies it takes to make a house worth every cent and attracting art enthusiasts drawn by the story of a man who made art his new backbone.

Battling for Earth’s NFT Future

What if every tourist hotspot was also a hotbed for blockchain battles? Welcome to L3E7, the game that’s making this dystopian nightmare a reality. Set in a cyberpunk Earth clone floating through space, L3E7 offers gamers the unique chance to defend landmarks, trade heroes, and earn NFTs that could be worth dozens of dollars in the real world. From using Google Maps data to create a battlefield of skyscrapers, to turning scenic landmarks into PVEVP arenas, the game combines real-world geography with high-stakes blockchain mechanics, making it a haven for both map nerds and crypto enthusiasts. But, of course, it's not just a game, it's an investment—where the bosses you fight might just pay off your student loans through NFTs. Find out more.

The King’s Comeback

Imagine Elvis Presley resurrected as a hologram and you're halfway to understanding the Elvis Evolution experience coming to London this November. It's an all-out sensory assault: the tactile thrill of touring the visual splendor of Elvis's Graceland via augmented reality, inhaling the scent of Elvis’s favorite snacks in the air, and getting serenaded by digital Elvis. And if you're still standing, hit the boozy after-party where the King's spirit lingers and the spirit of the '68 Comeback Special lives on through live DJs and retro revelry. It’s a futuristic frolic through the past, with enough sensory overload to make you feel All Shook Up. Hyperbeast (2 minutes)

JR’s Moving Masterpiece

Last issue we visited SUPERBLUE where JR has transformed an ordinary photo booth into a gateway to a giant printing press that transforms your portrait into a part of a living, sprawling mural. Well, he is at it again. On the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, JR isn't just taking you from point A to B. This Hogwarts Express for the art world, takes you on an artistic treasure hunt through the carriage he’s magically transformed. Now, as you travel in luxury, you can also engage in a high-class game of "I spy" with hidden elements, secret compartments and cryptic messages hiding in plain sight, turning the journey into an interactive storybook. It's an escape room, but with better scenery and, probably, much better cocktails. Design Boom (5 minutes)

Scoops up, peeps! Visitors can visit JR’s L’Observatoire in Venice until April 22nd

Seeing Sounds, Hearing Hues

If my friends Johannes Girardoni and Harriet Bourne Girardoni latest Chromasonic art installation were a cocktail, it’d be one part light, one part sound, and a splash of Google — shaken, not stirred, through a Milanese warehouse. They've set up a playground where the slides are made of light waves and the swings are sound frequencies, so you can romp around like a kindergartener in a field of synesthetic experiences. And don’t worry, they promise it’s the kind of fun that’s also oddly enlightening — like doing yoga in a kaleidosc...olorful maze. Dezeen (4 minutes)

Flashback Illumination

PRECIOSA LIGHTING is throwing it back to the good ol' days of pixelated bliss with their Crystal Beat 2 installation at Milan Design Week. It's like a nostalgia-packed party where the lights dance to 80s music, and each pendant is a mini time machine to the era of arcade games—only with more style and less joystick. Visitors can expect to be dazzled by a symphony of lights that play well with others, offering a customizable light show that promises not just to illuminate but also to mesmerize. Ironically, this full-blown retro revival's smart lights probably have more computing power than early video game consoles. The result: an audio-visual buffet of RGBW LED colors and 3D soundscapes that could even make a Pac-Man ghost feel like getting down on the dance floor. You can experience more here.

Cloudy with a Chance of Beauty

The Palazzo Litta was transformed into a cloud kingdom this April by We+, with their installation "Straordinaria," which used the lightness of clouds as a muse to stitch together air and warmth into a visual narrative that captivated\s the artsy and the geeky alike, and proves that you don't need to be a meteorologist to appreciate a good cumulus. This piece, a mix of nature’s breath and artisanal flair, promised Milanese onlookers a chance to walk through a vaporous fantasy—think Narnia meets a weather report. Truly, a breath of fresh air in the often stuffy rooms of contemporary art exhibitions. If art is a window into the soul, this installation didn’t just open it, it pretty much threw out the frame. Shout out to Richard Mulhern, LEED AP for always making my feed more colorful.

Milan's Design Darlings

Need more JR, Chromasonic , and PRECIOSA LIGHTINGand ew+? This year's Milan Design Week has it and more, with a spectacle of sensory experiences. We just saw Google teaming up with Chromasonic's Johannes Girardoni and Harriet Bourne Girardoni to explain colors using sound frequencies in a way that even your technophobe aunt might pause her cat videos to appreciate, making high-tech an unexpected guest at a neon dinner party. And Preciosa just transported us back to a time when graphics were blocky and music was synthesized. Adding to the visual feast, JR’s monumental printed rock installation "La Nascita" outside Milan Central Station offers a striking sculptural deviation that turns every viewer into a reluctant mountaineer. Meanwhile, Saint Laurent decides it’s a good idea to mix modernist architecture with dishware in an exhibition that could double as a very chic yard sale, and yes, it's as sophisticated as you'd hope, with every dishware piece looking ready for a museum heist. Under the Design Space AlUla's sun, attendees bask in a golden glow that screams retro yet feels like a sunbath of the future, all while the cosmos casts shadows like it's gossiping about us. (A momentary aside: Why can't designers just let the disco era go? And apparently,why can't the cosmos.) Not to be outdone, LASVIT’s fused glass pieces catch light like liquid jewels, turning every reflection into a story about opulence that even the richest czar couldn’t imagine. It's a week where every installation begs you not to just see, but to participate – because apparently, Milan doesn’t do passive observation. Design Boom (6 minutes)

Disneyland's Big Makeover

Anaheim's City Council just gave the thumbs up to DisneylandForward, which seems to be Disney's latest attempt to squeeze every last bit of magic—and money—out of its already packed land. Think of it as Disney's own urban renewal project, but instead of low-income housing and parks, you get Avatar land and possibly a Frozen tundra. In the future, visitors can look forward to getting lost in not just any park, but an integrated mega-park where you can shop, dine, and ride without ever seeing daylight again. Get ready for Avatar to pop out from behind every tree, and don't be surprised if Elsa starts serving you dinner—it's all part of the plan to bring every possible Disney dollar under one roof. Travel Agent West (3 minutes)

Sundance Film Festival in Tinder Mode

Ever felt like your town needed more indie films and celebrity sightings? Well, now’s your chance. The Sundance Institute Film Festival is thinking of packing up its indie cred and snow boots to find a new city that appreciates an artistic traffic jam. Cities across America are updating their LinkedIn profiles and hoping their artisanal coffee game is strong enough to attract the biggest names in not-quite-mainstream cinema. Park City residents are reportedly excited to potentially say goodbye to the festival, hoping for a quieter winter, unless the next big thing in indie involves silent films. Variety (3 minutes)

The Art and Science of Stagecraft

Imagine a concert where the visuals are so immersive, you might forget to actually listen to the music. Such was the spectacle at the Sphere Entertainment Co.'s newest show in Las Vegas, where the creative geniuses at Moment Factory turned Phish’s performances into a masterclass in multimedia art with a backdrop so immersive it might as well have its own fan club. This veteran multimedia studio, with roots deep in VJ-ing culture, dropped the mike and showed why they are still pioneers in the visual design arena, harmonizing a ]real-time and pre-rendered AI-generated visuals and old-school artistry with a live-performance, and crafting an all-encompassing sensory experience that turned the Sphere into a universe of color and movement. For those of you who haven't paying attention, it is clear Moment Factory isn't just keeping up with the times, they're setting the pace, transforming live performances into a vibrant, visually expansive journeys that resonates well beyond the music.

Interstellar Marine Mashup

Imagine if Jacques Cousteau and Carl Sagan designed a fish tank together, and you’ll have a vague idea of Josèfa Ntjam’s "Swell of Spæc(i)es." This exhibit at the Venice Biennale turns a deep dive into the ocean into a spaceship ride across the galaxy, She’s mixed everything from ancient myths to futuristic fables, blending oceans with outer space, and combining sea snakes with starry nights. Here, you become a time-traveling astronaut-archaeologist, which seems way cool, traversing from the bottom of the ocean to the edge of the cosmos without leaving your seat—just watch out for low-flying metaphors and the occasional digital plankton. It’s an artsy jambalaya that could either be a profound statement on existence or just a really trippy way to spend an afternoon. Dazed (5 minutes)

Scoops up, peeps! Josèfa Ntjam: swell of spæc(i)es is commissioned by LAS Art Foundation and is a Collateral Event of the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. The main installation is situated at Academia di Belle Arti di Venezia and the satellite space is at the Instituto di Scienze Marine’s Palazzina Canonica. The exhibition is running from April 20 until November 24, 2024. 

If You Build It, They Will Spend

Stepping into DICK'S Sporting Goods ' House of Sport might make you think you've walked into a sports utopia, where every athletic dream is just a credit card swipe away. Here, children can climb walls and parents can calculate how much it's going to cost them when their kids discover the joys of golf. It’s a marvel of consumerism, cleverly disguised as a family outing spot, where the real sport is shopping, and it's highly likely you'll leave with lighter pockets and a car full of sports gear you never knew you needed. Kidsburgh (5 minutes)

Ink and Ingenuity

Ever wondered what happens when Las Vegas gets philosophical about photons? Welcome to Particle Ink at the Luxor where light beams rain down harder than lost bets. At Particle Ink, you don't just watch a show. You dodge animated storms in bathroom settings and debate metaphysics with glowing toddlers climbing virtual trees. Here, every shadow has a riddle, and every toilet might just be a portal to another dimension. It’s like a psychedelic escape room designed by a philosopher on a Las Vegas bender. It's a game where the goal is to understand the plot before the strobe lights induce amnesia. So bring a towel and some metaphysical curiosity—things are about to get weirdly wet and wildly whimsical. Shout out to experience scout lead Audette Sophia on the post! (Oh, and while you're there, stop by PLAY Playground where the only thing stronger than the drinks is the pull of nostalgia, and where you'll find out if your new best friend can strategize their way out of a paper bag or just onto a Velcro wall.) Review Journal (4 minutes)

Coachella's Rock Brands

At Brandchella... oops, sorry... Coachella 2024, it seemed like the real headliners were the brands, not the bands. Fom a high-fashion pit stop at Pinterest 's Manifest Station to Aperol Spritz CZ ’s Italian-style happy hour, festival-goers were offered the chance to dive into experiences that are part art installation, part ad campaign, all while maybe catching a glimpse of Lana Del Rey in the distance. BizBash (1 minute) and Event Marketer (5 minutes)

Blueprints and Binary

Let's face it, architects have enough on their plates without having to learn Python or deal with temperamental AIs dreaming of electric sheep. But as we all scramble to find our own little niche in the (by all accounts) inescapable AI revolution, architects are tentatively dipping their toes into machine learning, with promises that it can amplify their creativity, not annihilate it. This isn’t Skynet, it’s just a helpful algorithm making sure your skyscraper doesn’t sway too much in the wind. Machine learning in architecture isn’t here to snatch jobs but to make them easier, helping with the heavy lifting of data crunching and intricate design models so humans can go back to musing about aesthetics and arguing over the best kind of ergonomic office chair. The promise is to enhance, not usurp, harnessing the power of AI to support human creativity, not replace it. It's all about harmony in the blueprint kingdom—keeping the "arch" in architect and the "artificial" in intelligence. Elblog.pl (4 minutes)

Tradition in Transition

Who says you can't teach an old museum new tricks? Pérez Art Museum Miami's latest exhibit looks like what happens when you give classical artists a software update and let them loose at a SEGD conference. The museum is diving headfirst into the digital realm, hoping to lure in those who speak fluent Instagram and Snapchat with a side of sophisticated art critique. Here, ancient art techniques blend with bleeding-edge digital chaos with a backgrop of social commentary in a techno-traditional mashup where you can explore AI generated plant life in digital terrariums, ponder the ethical mazes of surveillance capitalism, and still have time to debate whether machine learning will ever truly learn the angst of a post-impressionist.

Numerically Yours

In a universe where numbers are not just numbers, but an endless cascade of stylish Roman numerals stretching into eternity, French artist emmanuelle moureaux, at Bulgari's 75th-anniversary bash for its iconic Serpenti, has turned a Tokyo venue into what might as well be an arithmetic rave, with 347,100 Roman numerals playing a game of hide and seek across 100 vibrant shades. This isn’t just an art show - it’s a chromatic journey through a long corridor awash with colors pinched from a unicorn's daydream, where each step takes you deeper into a vortex of vintage vogue vibes. If you've ever wanted to be overwhelmed by aesthetics and underwhelmed by practicality, this is the place for you.

Scoops up, peeps! Bulgari Serpenti 75 Years of Infinite Tales "100 colors no.50 ‘Serpenti'" exhibition is runing at Jing Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan.

Rebels in the Datastream

In the heart of East Austin, a group of 30 plucky students transformed dadaLab.art into a dystopian showroom for their high-tech tale "Elysian Heights." Here, an AI overlord reigns supreme, promising prosperity but delivering digital despotism, forcing visitors into a world where prosperity is programmed and dissent is a system error. Meanwhile, rebels hack into the system, challenging the silicon status quo by broadcasting glitches in paradise. It's a story of digital dominance and human resistance, cooked up by a diverse crew of students who show that, at least in academia, interdisciplinary chaos of too many cooks—or coders—can surprisingly whip up a storm.

The Trendy Tenement

Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse is about to be overrun by the fashionably elite and stylistically ambitious, as Hypebeast Flea New York rolls into town with its second ever event. With a lineup including the likes of Lichen and Mama Yoshi Mini Mart, the euphoniously named ESENES WORLDWIDE and the minimalist ALL CAPS STUDIO, attendees can expect an eclectic mix of fashion, food, and whatever PHILLLLLTHY is. (I'm pretty sure it is a rejected Bond villain, but I may be confused.) Add in a dedicated spot by Depop for those essential #OOTD shots, and you've got a weekend that's part gallery, part gastro-pub, and all Instagram gold. Check it out here.

Bending Air and Strings

In what might be the most ambitious crossover since peanut butter met jelly, "Avatar: The Last Airbender" is bringing the elemental wars to a stage near you. Dust off your erhu or just come to gawk at the folks who can actually play one, because starting this fall, a live orchestra will follow the Avatar from Los Angeles to London, trying desperately to keep pace with his cinematic stunts, all without breaking a sweat or a string. And for those who think Aang flying around on-screen synced to violins isn't peak culture—you're probably right, but it's going to be epic anyway.

Sporting Elegance

Just when you thought the Olympics couldn't get any more chic, Louis Vuitton mounts their Dream exhibition, tossing gold medals aside faster than a relay race and showcasing, instead, sporty luxury items that might make even the most decorated athletes feel underdressed. Across Paris, from a storied family home to a chic museum, they're putting on a display that marries high jump with high fashion. Between heats, you can sprint over to view a Basquiat or a fancy new trunk designed by Virgil Abloh, because why merely spectate when you can shop? Forget personal bests. Think of it as a decathlon where disciplines include viewing rare art collaborations and spotting luxury sports accessories. Here it’s about personal style, featuring exhibitions where visitors can marvel at exhibitions that stretch from the athletic to the artistic, proving that the games can be as much about flair as they are about fitness. Essence (2 minutes)

Big Screen, Bigger Dreams

Imagine being able to watch a UFC fight without the risk of getting a beer spilled on you — that’s Cosm ’s promise with their new “shared reality” venue in LA’s Hollywood Park. Here, 2,000 fans can sit or stand (because choices matter) and watch fights from Vegas on an 87-foot screen that might just be compensating for something. This place isn't just for watching UFC smackdowns from a safe distance. It’s a full sensory overload where even the nosebleed seats come with a view (and without a sticky floor). It’s like being there, only you’re not — you’re in a domed cinema with way better popcorn options. Deadline (2 minutes)

Ctrl+Alt+Del History

Why sweat in the ruins when you can tour them in your pajamas? Thanks to Tencent and Dunhuang Academy, the Mogao Grottoes ancient caves are coming to a digital screen near you, complete with interactive relics and centuries of history condensed into glorious 4K resolution and wrapped in a layer of the latest gaming technology. Now you can experience thousand-year-old art up close in their "Digital Library Cave" without the bother of being tackled by a security guard and all the modern conveniences of home, like not wearing pants and pausing history for a snack break. They say those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, but here, those who can manipulate the joystick might just get a high score in history.

Gosling's New Typographic Turmoil

Ryan Gosling reprises his role as a man tormented by typeface in "Papyrus 2," the long-awaited sequel to that "SNL" sketch about the "Avatar" logo's font choice. This time around, Gosling's spiral into font-fueled despair leads him to confront the elusive designer (a cameo by Kyle Mooney), stumbleing upon a conspiracy that ties the Papyrus font to the infamous Wingdings through a familial twist that’s as absurd as it is unexpected. It's a deep dive into the world of typographic terrors where fonts are not just fonts, but gateways to madness and mirth. (If you have not seen the original "Papyrus," you should watch it first.)

Decadence After Dusk

Welcome to "When Night Comes," where the only thing darker than the interior design is the mysterious glances from the person in the corner. Here, every shadow whispers secrets and each drink doubles as a plot twist. Set in Melbourne's historic Austral Theatre, a soon-to-be-demolished dance hall that's got more stories than the cocktails have ingredients, this may be your last shot to see the old place before it gets turned into apartments. This an intimate theater experience, where the ambiance is charged with more mystery than a noir detective's backlog, throwing you headfirst into a velvet-lined rabbit hole of sensory experiences and hedonistic delights that promise to be as dizzying as its cocktails. So, come for the spectacle, stay for the spirits, and leave with the echoes of an era that’s about to be bulldozed.

Scoops up, peeps! Head over to Collingwood from June 11-29 to catch "When Night Comes." Tickets start from $63 and presale will begin at 9am on Monday, April 15. Get tix!

On the Horizon

XP Fronts: Somehow supposedly largely contained in the creative energy field of C2, Erica Boeke and XP Land is setting the abstract stage for something pretty remarkable: the XP Fronts. This isn't just any gathering, it's where some of the most inventive, creative minds in the experiential industry are coming together (creating the perfect distraction for me to slip in). Apply to Attend

World Experience Summit 2024: Get ready for the WXO - World Experience Organization's World Experience Summit 2024, James Wallman's brainchild and the epicenter of everything insanely cool and imaginative in experientialism! Get tix

Let's Dive Deeper Together

Hey there, I'm Lou Pizante , the curious mind behind "The Experientialist." This newsletter is my playground, a place where art, technology, culture, and commerce dance together. But it's not just about what I have to say – it's about sparking conversations, learning from each other, and growing our collective knowledge.

I'm always on the lookout for fascinating new experiences, innovative ideas, and intriguing perspectives. If you've got a story, a project, or a brainwave that you're itching to share, or if you're just keen to chat about the latest in immersive art or groundbreaking tech, I'm all ears.

Why not reach out? Let's connect and explore these fascinating intersections together. Drop me a message, and let's see where our conversation takes us. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!