“…The spectacular spectacle of a video loop, Civilization (Megaplex) by Marco Brambilla, playing in the elevators there has been blowing minds and starting conversations with its epically silly and demonic appeal since it was installed in 2009.
An equally wild piece in 3-D, Creation (Megaplex), opened at the Nicole Klagsbrun gallery in Chelsea last week, the third of a trilogy that makes art from film…
Indeed, all the people who entered seemed to enjoy themselves, almost like children in a tree house. They remarked on characters and scenes scrolling past in the animated tapestry, which was inspired by Dante’s Inferno, but which many critics have compared to the work of Hieronymus Bosch. The synthesized soundtrack was pure epic Hollywood kitsch.”    –Bob Morris, The New York Times, January 30, 2013

“Guests at the swank new Standard Hotel, on the western edge of Manhattan, are treated to an otherworldly piece of eye candy: ‘Civilization,’ a depiction of heaven, hell, and purgatory created by video artist Marco Brambilla. Inspired by Dante’s Inferno, it’s cobbled together from hundreds of scenes, lifted from movies; the piece runs as one enormous video collage. As the elevator rises, the sequence, running from an overhead projector, ascends to heaven. As the elevator descends, the video runs in reverse, ending in hell.” [. . .]    –Cliff Kuang, Fast Company, June 4, 2009

Contributed by Patrick Molloy