The Barmecide Feast recreates the eerie French-style bedroom from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and it's free to go inside.
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| Step where only astronaut Dave Bowman has tread before at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's The Barmecide Feast. Credit: 14th Factory |
By Eva Kis, Metro
The only French bedroom in outer space is landing here on Earth for a special 2001: A Space Odyssey anniversary exhibit.
It’s been 50 years since Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi
masterpiece premiered, and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
in Washington D.C. is stepping a little beyond its usual
straight-science mission for a two-month celebration of the film
starting April 8.
The highlight of its festivities is The Barmecide Feast,
a full-scale recreation of the rococo-style bedroom where (spoiler
alert) astronaut Dave Bowman “lives out” the rest of his days after
meeting the alien intelligence that’s been guiding human evolution since
the dawn of man.
The room is a faithful replica of an 18th-century French
living space, with one exception: the floor of light-up panels, a
reminder of the Star Gate that Bowman passed through to leave his body
behind and become a Star Child. Recreated by Hong Kong-based artist
Simon Birch, the set even has its own eerie original soundtrack by Gray
Gunn.
The name Barmecide Feast comes from a story in 1,001
Arabian Nights about a beggar who dreams up a banquet. In the film, the
room is meant to be a construct pulled from Bowman’s memories to comfort
him, according to a new book about the making of the film Space Odyssey.
But as far as what it means, the room has as many
interpretations as there are possible futures. As the museum’s Space
History Department curator Martin Collins suggests to Air and Space Magazine,
the architecture is from the last era before the French Revolution,
when people weren’t sure what would come next after the last monarch was
sent to the guillotine.
And yes, you can actually step inside (after taking off
your shoes) with a free timed ticket, but you must register online in
advance. Groups of six are allowed in the room for two minutes at a
time, so plan your selfies ahead and do all your philosophizing in the
museum’s cafe.
If you can’t make it to the exhibit, 2001: A Space Odyssey will be re-released in theaters on May 18.
The Barmedice Feast is open April 8 to May 28. The National Air
and Space Museum is open daily 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., located on
Independence Avenue and Sixth Avenue on the National Mall, Washington
D.C. Admission is free.
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