A Perfect Harmony: Full Performance

(This version presents the complete projection, without audience shots.)
On October 14, 2017, the Freer|Sackler, the Smithsonian’s museums of Asian art, reopened to the public with a free weekend event: IlluminAsia: A Festival of Asian Art, Food, and Cultures. Fifty thousand people converged on the National Mall to celebrate.

At the heart of the festival was A Perfect Harmony, a one-of-a-kind light projection that was displayed on the front of the Freer Gallery of Art. Created by artists 59 Productions, the twelve-minute presentation tells the story of one of our founders, Charles Lang Freer. It traces his life as a Detroit industrialist, his friendship with James McNeill Whistler and purchase of the artist’s famed Peacock Room, his travels through Asia, and his idea to found a free museum to house his collection in Washington, DC. The projection made use of the Freer|Sackler’s rich archival material as well as the collections themselves. The result was an adventure through Asian and American art—part lyrical, part psychedelic, and wholly spectacular.

CREDITS:
“Maple Leaf Rag,” by Scott Joplin
“Eternal Return: Ascent,” by Hafez Nazeri
“Daydream (featuring Ashwin Srinivasan),” by Nitin Sawhney
“Vivaldi, The Four Seasons: Spring 1,” recomposed By Max Richter
“Cream on Chrome,” by Ratatat
“Mothership,” by Mason Bates, performed by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project

With thanks to Sony Music, Universal Music Publishing, Positiv-ID, Music Sales Group, Universal Classics and Jazz, Deutshe Gramophon, Domino, Monotone, BMOP, and all the artists and composers involved.