Part of the Machine, a traveling exhibition from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is on view and playable at the Brewery Arts Center but only through the end of 2022. Celebrating the marriage of Rock & Roll and pinball machines with nine original pinball machines featuring Rock & Roll icons, along with Rock & Roll artifacts of the artists immortalized on the machines. This exhibition has been a huge hit for rock and pinball fans from all over and has created many new
fans along the way.
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 has been on display at the Brewery Arts Center’s Artisan Gallery in Carson City since July of 2022.
Director of Operations Michael Wiencek says of the exhibit “One of the truly magical things we love about what we do here at the Brewery Arts Center is creating one-of-a-kind experiences and memories, and this Rock & Pinball exhibit captures everything we strive for – it is artistic, creative, and entertaining, and it is for people of all ages from all walks of life!”
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.
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, a number superstars have been artistically immortalized on pinball games- forever wedding the power and energy of rock & roll to the silver ball.
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. The Artisan Gallery that houses this exhibition is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. to midnight on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and for special events.
More information will be available on the Brewery Arts Center website at breweryarts.org or you may call 775-883-1976.
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