It’s difficult to imagine pop rock music today, without the iconic contributions from David Bowie over the past decades. From his early Ziggy days to his musical and aesthetic experimentation onward, Bowie influenced the continual reinvention of the art form, challenging the essence of pop culture.
‘David Bowie Is’, the first international retrospective exhibit of its kind, has already been viewed by more than half a million visitors around the world in London, Berlin, São Paulo and Toronto over the past year. Curated by London’s Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum, this experience is now heading to Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art.
More than 300 objects including handwritten lyrics, original costumes, fashion, photography, film, music videos, set designs and Bowie’s own instruments will be showcased for all to see. A documentary about this world tour will also debut in select theaters across the nation on the same day.
To give visitors the best immersion possible, V&A partnered with Sennheiser for their guidePORT technology, a personal listening system that automatically switches between multiple broadcast streams based on location. As fans approach different areas of ‘Is’, the guidePORT locates an identifier signals and tunes to the appropriate high-quality audio stream.
Along with these personal devices, Sennheiser also places Neumann loudspeakers around the exhibit to drive a special 3D mix algorithm, consisting of Bowie concerts from over the years.
BSN* is invited to an exclusive preview of ‘David Bowie Is’ the weekend before opening, to the general public on September 23rd. Stay tuned for more photos, videos, and special access to the tech that will drive this unprecedented experience.
