How do systems—of technology, society, the state— determine our behavior? The artists in this gallery address the ways in which information and infrastructure are deployed to shape our every move, from regimes of surveillance and censorship to traffic control and artificial intelligence.
American Artist immerses you within the digital interfaces of predictive policing—a contemporary technology used by law enforcement—highlighting the biases inherent in seemingly neutral tools. Park McArthur’s and Amalia Pica’s works appear abstract, but refer to specific codes and historical circumstances: the regulation of highways and streets in the US; and the banning of mathematical concepts by the Argentinian military dictatorship in the 1970s. Julia Weist gathers evidence of the government surveillance of artists, noting, “These records illuminate where power and resources have pooled or been withheld, and tie history to daily life.” While many regulatory systems typically go unnoticed or are taken for granted, here they are revealed to be pervasive—and subject to change.
Organized by Michelle Kuo, The Marlene Hess Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture, and Erica Papernik-Shimizu, Associate Curator, with Gee Wesley, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Media and Performance.
