Sara Velas

We examine the Union Square Florist Shop project at the Velaslavasay Panorama as a case study of immersive phenomena presenting a new model for curatorial practice: spectral immersion.

Borrowing from the philosophical and aesthetic concepts of hauntology, magical urbanism and unrestored restoration, spectral immersion establishes a new category of restoration, curation and presentation that moves beyond simply taking an object back to a former time, but taking it to another dimension in time.

The Union Square Florist Shop (created by Velaslavasay Panorama in 2020) presents a case study with which to outline the fundamental features of spectral immersion, which borrows key principles from the panoramic medium: archival research, compressed time, representation of memory, illusions and the sense of place rather than the rote accuracy of the place itself. With spectral immersion, visitors are transported to a realm of what-might-have-been, of time folded-in-on-itself to extend an experience of immersion via unconscious paradigms and “spectral” indicators.

Founded in the year 2000 on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, the Velaslavasay Panorama (VP) repurposed the iconic Tswuun-Tswuun Rotunda, originally constructed as a Chinese food take-out restaurant in 1968. The panorama relocated in 2004 to its current site, the historic 1910 Union Theater on 24th Street. Comparing the respective histories of these structures, including their architecture, cultural use over time, and adaptation as sites of panoramic attraction, shows that the Velaslavasay Panorama project inverts the paradigm in which spectacular structures have been purpose-built for visitors of immersive 360-degree panoramas since the late nineteenth century. This history connects the panoramic impulse to the linear cinematic landscapes of Los Angeles as portrayed and imagined in films such as Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood (2019) and Boogie Nights (1997). The experience of cinematic techniques, such as the tracking shot, are paralleled to the Velaslavasay Panorama's exploration of panoramic forms as visitors are guided through levels of displacement in time, space and mind, street exteriors to building interiors, and finally to the imagined realm of urban representation in film and the painted panorama.

In Europe, the history of the 360-degree painted panorama dates back to the late 1700s and faded from popularity after the invention of cinema. Yet in China, the first 360-degree immersive panorama was unveiled in 1989. The panoramic phenomenon continues to flourish on a massive scale in China with a group of highly skilled artists specialized in the creation of 360-degree paintings. In spring 2019, the Velaslavasay Panorama will unveil Shengjing Panorama-the first ever China-USA collaborative panorama. Shengjing Panorama depicts the urban Chinese landscape of Shenyang in the years 1910-1930-an era of great technological change, global exchange, and diversity in architecture, religions, and culture. This presentation will give background information on the development of this collaboration between representatives of the Velaslavasay Panorama, including Andy Cao, Ruby Carlson, Rastra Contreras, Guan Rong, Sara Velas, and the Shenyang based artists