Meow Wolf Denver opens September 17. Here's a sneak peek.

Hildebrandt is known for his work with antique and vintage miniatures, creating micro worlds inside of old clocks, cameras, radios, TVs, and more. He had used this medium to make a huge work of art that fits Meow Wolf's theme: interdimensional time travel. 

The artist mimics the idea of interdimensional time travel by creating stories inside of vintage electronics that he hopes will remind people of their own past. “It’s almost like a memory inside of a memory,” Hildebrandt says. 

His piece uses over 150 individual dioramas that all fit together into 20 shelves that span from the ceiling to the floor. Each diorama contains a story brought to life with individual lighting and sound effects that come from speakers built into the art work. 

Hildebrandt laughs, “You could spent a lot of time just looking at all the small details in each one.”

The collaboration between Hildebrandt and Meow Wolf Denver has been three years in the making. “I knew in my proposal that I wanted a hallway that would bridge two different worlds and interact with you as you walked through it,” he says. 

Hildebrandt has always loved how his work evokes memories and a child-like wonder from viewers. “That’s what I love about my art, it gives you the ability, even as an adult, to pretend.”

People call the artist Mr. Christmas. It’s a name he got about 10 years ago when he first started doing this art work. Hildebrandt focused on vintage Christmas pieces. The first piece he made was a little Christmas village that was under glass. People took interest in that style of art and so he just sort of absorbed the name Mr. Christmas.

Meow Wolf Denver is set to open Fall 2021. 

Alexis Kikoen is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can contact her at alexiskikoen@rmpbs.org.