Las Vegas is increasingly becoming a destination that can transport visitors to other places. Whether through exotic imagery, immersive technology or conceptual artistry, there are a growing number of attractions such as Imagine Exhibitions’ National Geographic Rarely Seen: Photographs of the Extraordinary that take travelers on virtual voyages. Rarely Seen circumnavigates the globe, from its physical location inside Bally’s, with floor-to-ceiling photographs of extraordinary phenomena as curated by the National Geographic Society.
Rarely Seen complements Imagine Exhibitions’ REAL BODIES at Bally’s, an anatomical adventure that has enjoyed long success there. “I love exploring photography and travel around the world,” says Imagine president and CEO Tom Zaller, “I just thought it was a perfect fit for Bally’s.”
Inspired by 2015 book National Geographic Rarely Seen: Photographs of the Extraordinary, Zaller’s new exhibition space features 50 huge images of far-off locales, simple customs, extravagant events, natural life and serendipitous landscapes.
“National Geographic represents a lot of things to a lot of people,” says Zaller. “Travel or adventure or beauty, landscapes, people, it’s all sort of encapsulated in National Geographic, that yellow square. We all have an expectation of quality. I think Rarely Seen checks that box.”
The images themselves are unmanipulated, but they are arranged for maximum immersive effect. It’s a palace for collectors of photography books, and a lesson for photographers in what makes an image worthy of an international audience.
“The photograph is the magic,” says Zaller. “We have taken some liberties where we’ve brought some things to life in certain areas. Some galleries, you step inside a field of flowers next to a photograph of this very similar beautiful field of flowers. Other ones, we look through a camera lens to sort of create a little excitement or a new way of seeing ...”
For the most part, the images are massive eyefuls that could easily serve as scenic art for films. The 10,000-square-foot walk-through gallery is divided into environments that focus on geography, people and captured moments. Rarely Seen zooms in on elephants in the Bay of Bengal, nestles a photo of fishermen within a setting of netting and brings a paper lantern festival in Thailand to life with a sense-surrounding installation that’s the next best thing to being there.
Fifty photos serve as 50 different backgrounds for unlimited social media photo ops. There are caves decked out with stalactite-like icicles and glassy bodies of water that stretch into infinity. Spectacular mountain ranges, mysterious mounds and statues that seem to emerge from the earth await. A diver discovers a submerged tree. A kangaroo appears to hop on top of the surface of a lake. A man cleans a wild ram with a feather duster on the end of an extension pole.
“You wouldn’t know it, but this was an old retail store,” says Zaller. “We’re transformed it into this space where you’re immersed in these environments we create. It’s everything. It’s visual, its touch, it’s tactile. And of course, there’s some kind of layer of entertainment and education in there, too.”
Bally’s, 702.777.2782, ixvegas.com
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