Arts & Entertainment
Wonders of Art and Technology Get Clicks at WNDR Museum, an Influencer Hotspot: Review
A person walks through WNDR Museum in the West Loop. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)
A funhouse of art and technology, the WNDR Museum started as a pop-up in 2018 and then became a fixed destination in the West Loop.
I had never been inside and kept hearing reports — usually “It’s great” or “It’s not” — so it was high time to check it out. The museum had also added new attractions and was working with more local artists recently, so all the more reason.
The question was and remains: Is WNDR Museum worth your time and money, or is it a tourist trap? (Looking at you, Medieval Torture Museum…)
First, a confession: when I initially saw the name I thought it rhymed with “tinder” or “hinder.” Then I thought it might be a radio station’s call letters, as in “We play all the hit songs on W-N-D-R!” Well, it’s pronounced “wonder.” It’s just spelled without vowels. Sometimes my learning curve does loop-the-loops.
Immersive art experiences are everywhere these days with traveling shows (a la Immersive Van Gogh) and outlets like Otherworld and Meow Wolf in multiple locations. Even with all that competition, USA Today calls WNDR one of the best immersive art experiences in the country — which is both a nice compliment and a helpful reminder that USA Today still exists.
Online reviews, which should always be taken with a full shaker of salt, are split into two camps — WNDR is either wonderful or a waste of time. Not a lot of middle ground.
WNDR Museum guide Jaylen Williams takes visitors through the West Loop site. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)
WNDR has a reputation among influencers as a superb spot to grab Instagram-ready images and selfies in cool environments. I’m allergic to selfies and not much of an influencer — I can’t even persuade my dachshund to pee on a pad — so I thought maybe it wasn’t for me.
But the museum seeks to be an inspirational place that feeds your curiosity, and we could all use more places like that, right?
As it turns out, there are some wondrous examples of tech-dependent art at WNDR. Much of it is a hands-on experience, and a few environments are so funky that it’s unsurprising to learn that music videos have been shot here.
In the latest attraction, you wear 3D glasses and walk through a hand-painted Day-Glo adventure story, something about wormholes and the fabric of time. I didn’t follow the narrative, and it didn’t matter — I was dazzled (and somewhat dizzied).
There are about 20 installations at WNDR — some big and impressive, a couple of them shrug-inducing. It’s a playpen, kitschy at times, yet bona fide artists give it a gloss of respectability.
Yayoi Kusama has been part of the party since the beginning. The Japanese visual artist originally had a mirror-ball infinity room. She still has an infinity room here, but it’s a different installation called “Love is Calling.” It features polka dot tentacles rising up like stalagmites in an endless psychedelic cave. It is splendid.
The only downside is that the artist herself insists visitors limit their time in the room to just one minute, which seems a bit stingy.
Yayoi Kusama created an installation called “Love is Calling.” It features polka dot tentacles rising up like stalagmites in an endless psychedelic cave. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)
The “Light Floor” is built upon hundreds of motion-activated LED panels that trace your footsteps in bursts of animated colors. Think of it as a delightful high-tech variation on the “floor is lava” game — part disco floor, part acid trip. The artist behind this popular attraction? That venerable old master BrightLogic Inc.
“Iris” captures a close-up photo of your eyeball and adds it to a wall of thousands of eyes from previous visitors. You’re being peered at by your peers and then you’re among them. I found it beautiful and unexpectedly moving in a “we’re all God’s children” kind of way.
Another recent addition, “Touch,” is a seamless cube with flexible projection surfaces. Projected images change as you push into the screens with your hands. It’s the intriguing creation of two design professors from the University of Illinois, Austin Watson and Pedro Neves.
Chicago artist Anna Lasbury of Crappy Cake Art fame (don’t laugh — she has 85,000 followers) created a funny and chaotic collage. The tactile three-dimensional work is made of realistic-looking cakes topped with essential messages such as “Call Your Mom” and “Fail Loud, Fail Proud.”
WNDR was founded by Chicago-based entrepreneur Brad Keywell. Keywell is a co-founder of Groupon and Uptake Technology, an AI software company. He has another WNDR Museum in Boston.
Which brings to mind another question: Who gets to label a place a museum? The short answer to this writer, who once enjoyed a visit to the National Mustard Museum, is whoever wants to. You fund it, you name it. Especially if you’re a tech billionaire.
Chicago artist Anna Lasbury of Crappy Cake Art fame created a funny and chaotic collage. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)
Our gracious WNDR guide, Jaylen Williams, told us: “The museum experience can feel very serious. We try to prioritize playfulness, community and connection here and really kind of redefine what the museum experience is like.”
Ultimately, I found WNDR Museum joyful and engaging. I smiled a lot — how’s that for a review? Families were having fun, though I did see one kid sitting on the floor looking at his phone. Kind of sad, because these weird wonders can inspire.
I’m also gonna go out on a limb and guess that it’s a popular destination after a trip to the dispensary.
Tickets are generally about $35 for a visit that lasts 45 minutes to an hour. You’ll pay more for exclusive packages or a few dollars less at off-peak hours. They currently have extended summer hours, and Wednesdays are discount days.
As far as the price goes, it’s all relative. Sorry for that cliché but here’s another: You’ve got to pay the piper. A salad from the vending machine at WTTW now costs $13. Five-dollar sandwiches are a thing of the past, and without SpotHero you can pay 50 or 60 bucks to park for a couple of hours in the Loop.
But if you’ve got some extra coin, WNDR Museum might just influence your creativity.
And if you’re an influencer… well, you’ve probably been there, done that.
Marc Vitali is the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation Arts Correspondent.
