No bouncing in the park

Exxopolis as it starts to rise in the Civic Center, creating a temporary, inflatable, walk-though world.

“It lives!” exclaimed Christine Breihan as air began to fill Exxopolis—the city-like, inflated art installation that opens to the public this Saturday in Grand Park.

Exxopolis arrived in a box truck Thursday morning, and Breihan and her confederates began setting up immediately, a bit behind schedule after a forklift had to be located at the last minute. Deflated, the exhibit only took up half of the truck, but after being rolled out and positioned, the grey, blue, green and red polyvinyl spanned 175 feet by 95 feet. And as it rose, the installation’s largest dome soared 23 feet into the air.

The fanciful, portable city is making its Los Angeles debut, with the public invited to stroll, free of charge, through its translucent, color-filled interiors over the course of the next two weekends. It is the brainchild of artist Alan Parkinson, whose Nottingham, England-based Architects of Air studio creates giant inflatables called “luminaria” and sends them out into the world on a mission to inspire wonder. Their work began more than two decades ago, growing out of a theatre project for audiences with disabilities. The fully accessible creations aim to attract the widest possible audiences; 500 of them have been displayed in 37 countries since 1992.

But before Exxopolis can work its magic, there’s plenty of advance work to get it off the ground.

Just ask Shanti Freed, the Exxopolis exhibition manager in charge of installing, managing and tearing down the structure after each day’s exhibition.

“There are a lot of floating variables,” Freed said. “It takes a good, long, steady day to set it up and make sure it is all laid out and ballasted correctly.”

Exxopolis requires 32,500 pounds of ballast just to hold it down. Concrete cones and drums are arranged like tent stakes along the perimeter and in gaps between the structure’s undulations. Inflating is the easy part; that only takes about 20 minutes.

Freed’s No. 1 consideration is making sure the 80 or so people who will be in the exhibit at any given time are safe. Staff from the Music Center, which manages Grand Park, will be trained to ensure guests follow rules, which include no running, jumping or sliding.

“The only thing it has in common with a bouncy castle is that it’s inflated,” Freed said of the artwork. “Anyone under the age of 16 must be with a parent; you have to be respectful of that space.”

Her biggest enemy is weather. Last year in Michigan, people were touring when tornado sirens blared. “It was the fastest evacuation I ever did,” Freed said. Trees were uprooted just 2 blocks away and, when Freed emerged from an underground storm shelter, three inches of rain had soaked everything.

Freed said L.A.’s heat shouldn’t pose any difficulties. While it may not be as cold as an office building, massive air conditioners pump air constantly, keeping the interior a few degrees cooler than outside.

The bubble shaped buildings, which are grey on the outside with patches of color where light enters and is reflected, are a striking temporary addition to the park’s green lawn across from City Hall. But things really get interesting inside.

“It’s like a kaleidoscope rainbow, but with no hard edges,” Freed said. “Everything is curved,”

Exxopolis’ L.A. visit comes as part of a U.S. tour. (Next stop: Shreveport, Louisiana.) It will be open to the public on the next two weekends, September 7 through September 8 and September 13 through September 15.  People can tour it from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. The free exhibit has already generated a lot of interest, with advance reservations completely filling up. However, those reservations only comprise half of the possible slots, so walk-ups will be taken on a first come, first served basis. The wheelchair-accessible exhibit is open to all ages.

The experience even comes with a soundtrack, of sorts. The Music Center’s senior director for programming, Barbara Leonard, has arranged for 80 performances called “Random Acts of World Culture,” which will be staged at various places during the exhibition. Most will take place in a large dome called the Cupola, a cathedral-inspired space with plastic “stained glass” windows. Performances will range from individual artists to a septet, with musical styles that span the globe. It is the first time that live music has been integrated into one of the inflatable installations.

“I am very aware of the vision of Grand Park—‘the park for everyone,’ ” Leonard said. “We put the focus on 77 cultures that are a part of our city’s history.”

Leonard met Parkinson in 1994 at a conference, and toured several of his exhibits in other cities. Impressed, she tucked away the idea of bringing a luminarium to Los Angeles someday. When Grand Park opened, the opportunity presented itself. Thursday, she was giddy to see the structure take shape at last.

“Exxopolis is its own little city in my mind,” Leonard said.  “We want to make sure the space and the performances have a harmony, have a beauty.”

Its outside is striking, but Exxopolis' interior is downright kaleidoscopic.

Posted 9/6/13