![]() Martin didn't plan on buying an old bowling alley - but when Meow Wolf showed him the space and told him what they planned to do with it, he couldn't resist. He has already reopened an old art house movie theater and converted a vacant high school into artist studios. The mastermind behind A Song of Ice and Fire - the massively popular book series that spawned the massively popular Game of Thrones TV series - has become something of a latter-day Medici in his adopted hometown of Santa Fe. Founding member Vince Kadlubek explains that when the collective started eight years ago, it was just a small band of creative 20-somethings who felt out of place in Santa Fe's high-brow art establishment. The same could be said of Meow Wolf as a whole. "We're still trying to work out the kinks, but it's getting there," he says. Sculptor Matt Crimmins turned its rib cage into a radiant makeshift marimba. I opt to crawl through the family fireplace into a series of prehistoric caves, with a glowing, 12-foot mastodon skeleton at their center. We're gonna be open in a couple days, and then I'll rest and fix my spine," he laughs. "It's been really hard, but it's so worth it. Despite suffering from a herniated disk, he's been putting in 14 hours a day to finish. ![]() Like most of the people I meet here, he's got a cultlike dedication to Meow Wolf's vision of immersive, interactive art - and to making it accessible to everyone. The Aquarium, by Matt King - with fish sculpted by Sarah Bradley. I'm told the family has curiously disappeared after a break in the space-time continuum, and like all visitors, I'm set loose by the artists to explore the interdimensional mystery. All around it are uncanny reminders of the Seligs - the fictional family ostensibly lived here. One of those installations, a two-story Victorian house built from scratch, marks the entrance to the exhibition. ![]() Martin.īut before we get ahead of ourselves, let's start with the tour: When I arrive around 10 the night before the exhibition opens, dozens of Meow Wolf's 135 artists are scrambling to put the finishing touches on their meticulously crafted installations. Think of it instead as a kind of art amusement park, built by an arts collective called Meow Wolf and largely funded by a surprising benefactor: George R.R. Set up in the industrial district of Santa Fe, N.M., the new permanent art exhibition is a far cry from the fine arts galleries and museums for which Santa Fe is known. ![]() Or better yet, some undiscovered alien narcotic. When you step into the House of Eternal Return, it feels a bit like walking into your family home - and finding yourself lost in a PeeWee's Playhouse on steroids. ![]()
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