Coachella has established itself as one of the most famous music and arts festivals in the United States. Over the course of two weekends, the iconic event showcases popular and established musicians, as well as emerging artists. This year’s festivities were no exception to the energetic and visually stimulating celebration. Along with an amazing variety of musical sets, gigantic art installations were prominent throughout the grounds, providing shade throughout the day, and shining electric colored light throughout the night. My Modern Met was invited to cover the festivities. Here are our photos from this past weekend.
Sneaking into the Show by The Date Farmers
“For the artists – whose paintings, constructions, and installations reflect the lives and traditions of the area’s Mexican farmworker community – the title suggests the only way most of their neighbors could ever experience the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. To a certain degree, they also feel like party crashers. And they hope the title will show the audience a small slice of the life only a few miles from the perfectly manicured festival grounds.”
Do Lab stage
“World-renowned, Los Angeles based event producers, Do LaB, are pioneers in America’s festival culture and the masterminds behind Coachella’s wettest and wildest oasis, the Do Lab Stage.”
Besame Mucho by R & R Studios
“Inspired by L.A.’s iconic Hollywood sign, they created Bsame Mucho [which translates from Spanish to “Kiss me many times”] in the universal language of flower power – 100,000 silk flowers in a prevailing warm tone of reds, yellows, and oranges. Ultimately, they want to create spaces for public endeavor and pleasure, where there is empathy, optimism, and togetherness.”
Katrina Chairs by Alexandre Arrechea
“With Katrina Chairs, he imagines a structure that lifts the community from the danger and encourages a dialog about the purpose and possibilities of space and design.”
Tower of Twelve Stories by Jimenez Lai
“The installation responds to Rem Koolhaas’ notion of the “typical plan,” or generic sameness, of Manhattan’s skyscrapers, a wholly American architectural archetype that presumably adapts to any kind of business that occupies it. Lai offers a more animated vision: a cartoonish metropolis of tiny bubble-like spaces populated by eccentric characters.”
Portals by Phillip K. Smith III
“The pavilion contains a 35-foot-tall illuminated mesquite tree, seating, and grass spaces where visitors can stop, hang out, and spend time with the piece. Portals encourages one’s individual alignment with the light, pace, and solitude of the desert.”
Of Monsters and Men performance
Ellie Goulding performance
All photos by Eugene Kim / My Modern Met.