Glitteropolis

**Glitteropolis** was a temporary installation created by Meow Wolf, located in the Health & Social Sciences Auditorium at New Mexico State University. It was created by 35 artists, and ran from November 30, 2011 to February 18, 2012.

## Official Description

*Constructed within the Health & Social Sciences Auditorium at NMSU, Glitteropolis was an archeological dig site set in the future. It featured small villages, sparkling obelisks, mysterious glyphs, miniature scenes set into vast interiors and more. Conceived by 35 artists and constructed in Las Cruses, NM by 9 of them Glitteropolis was a site specific fully immersive art installation that bolstered sound, light and, well, lots and lots of glitter.*

## History

The "Pink Booty Hole" diorama from the Due Return featured miscellaneous objects that had been covered in glitter. This diorama started an appreciation for glitter within the artist collective, and would go on to inspire an entire exhibit based on that premise- birthing Glitteropolis.

Students at NMSU were invited to work on the project, "each according to their abilities." Participating students from professor Craig Cully's painting class would have worked on the exhibit during class time. Fifteen Meow Wolf members relocated to Las Cruces to work on the exhibit.

Live performances were held, including a show by Luna Vroum's Room.

Elements of Glitteropolis would reemerge in later Meow Wolf installations. Most notably, the Glowquarium from House of Eternal Return (and later, The Real Unreal) bears a strong resemblance to the Glo Forest. The storyline of a factory polluting a village would be seen again in Omega Mart, and the glitter mineral deposit in Seven Monolith Village may have been inspired by the landscapes of Glitteropolis.

## Trivia

* A poster designing competition was held for the exhibit.
* Coincidentally, the children's book *Amelia Fang and the Unicorns of Glitteropolis* shares a namesake.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.art-of-the-day.info/a06162-meow-wolf-presents-glitteropolis.html
2. ↑ https://meowwolf.com/projects/glitteropolis
3. ↑ Kennedy, Caity. "Matt and I made this small space for the due return, an epic meow wolf project in 2011. The due return was a huge two story boat, and it took a lot of detailing that sometimes got kinda tedious. there was this bit of unused space and we decided to make it into a diorama only visible from outside the ship, through a port hole. Excited to do something spontaneous again Matt and I worked on this silly sparkly anomaly, glittering some things for the first time. Other people contributed objects to receive glitter, or glittered a thing or three themselves (: Thus, I think, began meow wolf’s & Matt’s glitter obsession, which quickly lead to our next show in 2011, glitteropolis. We came up with the idea that the ship had been collecting trinkets from its journeys and turning them into treasure and displaying them just for itself to enjoy. It being treasure/booty, and being a pink space, and only visible through a hole, it got the uncomfortable but accurate name of 'pink booty hole' … I know I have that pipe cleaner rainbow somewhere, I’ll find it." *Instagram*, 3 August 2022,

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg07e4HuI07/?utm\_source=ig\_web\_button\_share\_sheet
4. ↑ Staley, James. "Meow Wolf as a pup: Check out the group's collaboration with NMSU students in 2011." *Las Cruces Sun-News*, 25 November 2011. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023.
5. ↑ *"*Luna Vroum's Room Live at Meow Wolf's Glitteropolis, NMSU 2011." *YouTube*, uploaded by Luna Vroum's Room, 27 March 2020, https://youtu.be/wV4TeuYbDys?si=FA5zjGAvSvrbCQs5
6. ↑ https://www.behance.net/gallery/2723509/Meow-Wolf-Glitteropolis?locale=en\_US