Superblue Miami: The Ultimate Immersive Art Experience

Miami is a beach city, to be sure, but did you know it has great art and culture, too? If you want to take a break from chillin’ in South Beach, head over to Superblue Miami to experience immersive art installations by renowned contemporary artists. These artworks push the boundaries of what art is while also commenting on the world around us. As a visitor, you interact with the installations, and in some cases, become part of the artworks themselves.

Full disclosure: I’m not really into contemporary art. There’s nothing wrong with it; it’s just not my jam. However, visiting Superblue Miami gave me a whole new perspective and appreciation for contemporary art. So, if you’re the kind of person who only likes art created before 1980, or doesn’t “get art” in general, I highly recommend a visit anyway. Trust me, you’ll have a good time.

Artworks at Superblue Miami

Superblue Miami has a handful of art installations by famous contemporary artists. It’s not like a museum in the traditional sense, with artwork adorning the walls or arranged around a gallery. Each artwork exists in its own space and encourages your interaction. Below are just a few of my favorites.

The Digital Worlds of teamLab

teamLab is a collective of over 800 artists, engineers, animators, mathematicians, and programmers who create kick-ass digital worlds. Based in Tokyo, Japan, teamLab uses technology to explore the relationship between nature and humanity. Their artworks dissolve the traditional boundaries between viewers and art by being fully immersive.

At Superblue Miami, you’ll first encounter Proliferating Immense Life—A Whole Year Per Year. This installation demonstrates the perpetual cycle of growth and decay with flowers on a massive screen. The flowers bloom, grow, wither, and ultimately die. You, the viewer, have the power to make the flowers scatter and wilt with your touch.

If you can break away from the flowers (they’re enchanting, beautiful, and addictive), you’ll enter Universe of Water Particles, Transcending Boundaries, which is a digital landscape of waterfalls. When you stand in front of a section of the waterfall, your body becomes like a rock, disrupting the water and changing its flow.

This artwork blends with Flowers and People, Cannot be Controlled but Live Together—Transcending Boundaries, A Whole Year Per Hour. The waterfall directly influences this artwork because wherever you obstruct the water, flowers begin to grow. A seasonal cycle occurs within an hour, with flowers blooming and growing if no visitors interact with the landscape. Once you touch the flowers, however, they scatter and fade away. The artwork comments on human intervention in nature, demonstrating that we aren’t necessarily in conflict with nature but are part of the larger ecosystem.

What I love about teamLab’s digital worlds is that rather than being static artworks, they continuously change through our participation. The fun thing is that your interactions can never be replicated, and, therefore, the particular effect you have on the artwork is unique and will never happen again.

Pulse Topology by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

Pulse Topology is an interactive biometric artwork that depends on your participation. So, what the fuck does interactive biometric mean? Basically, there are 3,000 light bulbs suspended from the ceiling, forming crests and valleys. The bulbs are attached to sensors that detect your heartbeat when you place your hand underneath them. Pulse Topology translates your pulse to light and sound right then and there—you can hear it from speakers and see it in the light bulbs.

The artwork records and adds your pulse, so that the bulbs continuously glimmer to your heartbeat as well as those of others who came before you. It remains in the artwork until 3,000 new people come to share their pulses. Then, your heartbeat fades away.

Pulse Topology makes you feel unique while you place your hand under the sensor. Yet when your heartbeat joins others before you, you realize you’re part of a collective humanity.

Forest of Us by Es Devlin

Es Devlin created a mirrored labyrinth to demonstrate our connection to nature. The installation begins as a short film, which opens to reveal a maze of mirrors. The parallels of our breathing mechanisms—the bronchial trees in our lungs—and the trees in our environment inspired Forest of Us.

There are two levels of the maze, so be sure to go upstairs for a jaw-dropping view of the reflective labyrinth. On par with the theme, I found it very appropriate to do the yoga pose “Tree” while there.

The Chronicles of Miami by JR

After all of the conceptual, interactive installations you’ve just experienced, this monumental photo mural reminds you that you are indeed in Miami. Displayed on an exterior wall of Superblue Miami, the mural contains over 1,000 portraits of Miamians. You’ll see faces of mayors, celebrities, locals, and even doggies, collaged together to represent what Miami is all about.

Visiting Superblue Miami

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If you’re looking for more to do in Miami, Florida, check out The Ancient Spanish Monastery: A Medieval Treasure in Miami