The seventh in an eight-part series.
Almost 26 years ago, Gene Roddenberry premiered the Holodeck in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Fast forward a couple of decades and computer scientists at the University of Illinois have recreated the Holodeck, which can possibly be used for advances in space and medicine.
"Einstein spoke of imagination as power," said artist Tara Nakano. "It's what keeps motivating people. Without creativity, we can't solve the world's problems and move into future directions. We can imagine technology, like the Holodeck in Star Trek, that was never a possibility and bring it to life."
Nakano draws inspiration from science fiction and video games in order to create her own immersive worlds, while exploring different cultures.
She donated one of her paintings from her Modern Myth series to Gateway Theatre's For the Love of Art silent auction fundraiser. The series looks at old masters. In the case of the donated work, Nakano studies Leonardo da Vinci and modernizes it.
The head of a woman looks down against a sheet of shimmering gold.
Her long locks blend in with the more abstract lines of the background.
"I like combining the historical and the modern," said Nakano, who studied cultural anthropology. "I love to travel and research a particular culture, and steep my mind in it so I slowly understand it."
She also uses her video gamer past to create 3-D images that transport the viewer into another place, as they become hybrids of the past, present and future, as well as, a number of cultural influences.
"There was a lot being done with the video game industry in the late '90s," she said. "I watched as Final Fantasy moved from the simple, storybook format to really coming alive. I thought it was fabulous, that there was a real space for some fascinating art there."
The end product looks like a mix of photography and scenes from a video game. One image looks down a dark, cobblestoned alleyway that could be from the Middle Ages. However, above an archway, there's a surveillance camera watching and modernizing the scene.
"Art allows humans to have new experiences in a safe place," Nakano said. "You can travel into new worlds and it enhances the imagination of every person."
But to get to where she is now was a long struggle for Nakano, who has a type of dyslexia. Determined to not let it affect her academics, she worked hard and developed techniques to understand the world around her.
It wasn't until she was at Alberta College for Art and Design that she realized it was affecting her artwork as well, where she couldn't properly register perspectives and angles.
"I refused to limit my ability," she said. "I'd look at where the top artists of my generation are. I'd look for where the bars were set and find ways, or ladders, to get there."
Slowly she found the skills she studied relentlessly began to permeate her subconscious and emerge through her artwork.
For more of Nakano's work, visit www.taranakanoart.com.
Gateway's fundraiser is open until Monday, June 24 with an open house on Sunday, June 23 from 2 to 5 p.m.
Board members and staff will be in attendance. For more information, visit www.gatewaytheatre.com.
