This traveling exhibition is on view and playable at the Brewery Arts Center until October 23, 2022
The 2022 Levitt AMP Carson City concert series may be over but the Brewery Arts Center is still the place to be every weekend as they expand the hours for the popular new exhibition, Part of the Machine – A curated exhibition from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This exhibit celebrates the marriage of Rock & Roll and pinball with nine original pinball machines featuring Rock & Roll icons, along with Rock & Roll artifacts of the artists immortalized on the machines
Part of the Machine is a traveling exhibition on view and playable at the Brewery Arts Center from July 23 through October 23, 2022. The new hours for this exhibition are Thursday through Saturday evenings, 8pm until Midnight as well as noon to 4pm Tuesday through Sunday.
The first pinball machine was produced in 1931 and, almost immediately, the game was labeled a menace to society, a time waster and corrupter of youth. Considered gambling, pinball was banned from the early 1940s to the mid 1970s in most American big cities. Naturally, it became a symbol of youth and rebellion, right along with rock & roll. The marriage of rock and pinball was formalized in 1969 when the Who released Tommy. The rock opera highlighted the mad pinball skills of pinball wizard Tommy Walker. Since then, numbers superstars have been artistically immortalized in pinball games- wedding the power and energy of rock & roll to the silver ball.
The curated pinball and rock & roll exhibit, Part of the Machine exhibit was first on display at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH and immediately became their most popular exhibition and now it has made its way out west for the first time ever and will be on display at the Brewery Arts Center’s Artisan Gallery in Carson City.
“My favorite part of the exhibition is the multi-generational impact it has made”, says Michael Wiencek, Brewery Arts Center’s Dir. of Operations, “to see families enjoy experiencing not only the exhibition but everything we have to offer here, truly makes it unforgettable”.
Some of the machines and artifacts on display are the Alice Cooper’s Nightmare Castle and his Electric Chair from the Godfather of Shock Rock section, the KISS pinball machine is accompanied by Peter Kris’ drum set, and of course, Pinball Wizard and Captain Fantastic along with Pete Townshend’s guitar that he used to compose those soundtracks.
In addition to the Rock & Roll artifacts from the Hall of Fame, there is a local tie as Karen Burns Productions has loaned the KISS costumes used in Hello Hollywood Hello in Reno.
“We’ve already had several groups use the space and pinball machines for private parties and team building activities and it lends itself perfectly for that. If the interest continues, we might be extending the loan until after the holiday season to create a unique holiday gathering space for businesses”, says Executive Director Gina Lopez, “those kinds of experiences are truly unique and can never be replicated.”
Entry will be $10 per adult and $5 for students and with that you will receive $1 back in quarters to play the machines. Additionally, there are monthly memberships available for unlimited play. However, in the spirit of the Brewery Arts Center’s barrier free Levitt AMP Carson City concerts, You can experience this exhibition free of charge every Saturday night from 5pm to 7pm before the LeviK AMP Concerts begin through Aug. 27.
More information will be available on the Brewery Arts Center website at breweryarts.org or by calling 775-883-1976.
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