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A new immersive light and sound experience created by Milwaukee's FuzzPop Workshop is set make its debut at Summerfest on Thursday.
“Yield” is described as, "a cosmic cornfield that will immerse visitors in a glowing maze of light, sound and sculpture" that, "draws on childhood memories of getting lost in fields of corn and turns that familiar memory into an otherworldly experience."
"Yield" is 36 feet in diameter and 12 feet tall. It's made with 192 stalks of corn, 2,112 leaves, 6,336 rivets, 75,000 individually addressable LED pixels and more than 15,000 feet of cable.
A multi-channel sound system and moving light and sound through the space create a dream-like, immersive experience.
I got a chance to walk through at a media preview Tuesday and even though the sun had not yet set, it was pretty eerie with the music, glowing lights and the shushing and clacking of the corn swaying in the wind. I can only imagine that once darkness falls it will become much, much more evocative.
“We’re honored to have the opportunity to create a homegrown immersive art experience here in Milwaukee and to be a part of a cultural icon like Summerfest,” said FuzzPop Workshop Founder and Creative Director Daniel Murray.
“Together with our incredible team of local artists, we’re excited to share this wild and weird experience with the community.”
Murray did the lighting design for the exhibit, while the sound design was the work of Brian Nielson. It was designed by Matt Connell and John Kowalczyk, who also led the fabrication team of Drew York, Joe Lino, Sara Bott, Jasper Huber, Amanda Evans, Anja Sieger.
The experience was created by FuzzPop Workshop with financial support from Milwaukee World Festival, Inc., Herzfeld Foundation, Astor Street Foundation, Heil Family Foundation and Wilson Family Foundation.
According to the May 30 announcement, "Yield explores a larger story of ecological change and technological advancement, while providing Summerfest attendees with a stunning visual event unlike anything ever experienced at the festival."
The experience is situated near the south end of the Summerfest grounds, right behind the giant guitar, drum kit and piano. Festival admission is required to access it.
Summerfest is slated for three weekends this year: June 20-22, June 27-29 and July 4-6.
“We are thrilled to work with FuzzPop Workshop to debut Yield during Summerfest, and support and highlight the work being done by these talented Milwaukee-based artists,” said Sarah Pancheri, President and CEO of Milwaukee World Festival, Inc.
“A special thank you to Herzfeld Foundation, Astor Street Foundation, Heil Family Foundation, and the Wilson Family Foundation for sharing our vision to bring more immersive art to the festival, while supporting the local creative economy.”
FuzzPop Workshop's "Deep Lake Future" immersive adventure expedition is currently running, through July, at the VAR Gallery, 700 S. 5th St. in Walker's Point. More information and tickets for that can be found here.
(NOTE: This post, updated to include video and information on a media preview walkthrough, originally posted on May 30, 2024.)
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
