The Brooklyn Navy Yard, all disused train tracks and industrial grit, has always had a certain post-apocalyptic charm. Which makes it the perfect stage for Radiohead's latest mind-bending creation. Because apparently that's where we are now: absorbing art in buildings that look like they just survived the end of days.
Fans are trekking a seven-minute walk past mysterious alleyways and giant silver pipes to find the "Motion Picture House KID A MNESIA." It's part installation, part exhibition, part film screening, and it's taking over a corner of Brooklyn through the end of May.
The journey begins in a dark room filled with art that sprang from the band's pivotal albums, Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001). These were the records where Radiohead famously zigged when everyone expected a zag, diving headfirst into electronic soundscapes. Here, there are no labels, no helpful wall texts — just massive wall works, arrays of old TVs flickering with video, and sculptures. Keep an eye out for the 25-foot-tall "Stickman" figure, a recurring motif that's probably seen more therapy than most of us.
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The main event unfolds in a vast room with four enormous screens. The only directives are to "slow down" and "sit, lean or lay anywhere." Clearly, they know their audience.
The film kicks off with a 3-D-esque stroll through eerie black-and-white woods, set to the thumping, iconic rhythm of "Everything in Its Right Place." Minotaurs and other fantastical creatures wander through abstract, digital landscapes. The music is the narrative, the only sound, creating an experience that's both captivating and delightfully strange — a mashup of video game aesthetics and full-blown cinematic spectacle. It's based on art by Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke, which, if you're a Radiohead fan, makes perfect sense.
After your brain has been thoroughly rearranged, a merch store awaits with books, clothing, and other artifacts. And for those not in New York, don't despair: this particular brand of beautiful weirdness is also heading to Chicago, Mexico City, and San Francisco. Because a good artistic existential crisis should be shared.
