Pendoran Vinci

PRESS RELEASE

PENDORAN VINCI Art and Artificial Intelligence Today

What is Artificial Intelligence’s current state of development? How do we interact with AI? And what role does AI play in art? Starting June 9, 2018 the exhibition PENDORAN VINCI: Art and Artificial Intelligence Today at the NRW Forum Dusseldorf will present compositions by international artists examining Artificial Intelligence's place in the world today. The exhibition is initiated by Leoni Spiekermann and curated by Tina Sauerlaender and Peggy Schoenegge.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a growing role in our lives. We talk to Google, Siri, or Alexa to get the weather forecast or send a message. Pattern recognition systems identify visual forms and serve facial recognition in social media or public surveillance systems. Humanoid robots facilitate daily life, welcome us in hotel lobbies, or take care of elders. AI even generated an exhibition title for us.

At present, AI is mostly programmed to assist and serve humans rather than to create an autonomous individual like the science fiction androids C-3PO in Star Wars or Ava in Ex Machina (2015). The exhibition PENDORAN VINCI – Art and Artificial Intelligence Today points to the current stage of development of AI that forms a part of our society and affects our daily lives. The contemporary artists Nora Al-Badri & Jan Nikolai Nelles (DE), Jonas Blume (DE), Justine Emard (FR), Carla Gannis (US), Sofian Audry & Erin Gee (CAN), Liat Grayver (ISR/DE), Faith Holland (US), Tuomas A. Laitinen (FI), and William Latham (UK) reflect on human interaction with AI and question its effects on our behavior, social structures, or customs. The artists explore how today’s AI fulfills creative tasks like the creation of artworks and develop their own artistic AI applications.

The AI on neuronaming.net randomly generated the exhibition title PENDORAN VINCI. It evokes Leonardo Da Vinci, the Renaissance painter remembered as a homo universalis, a polymath, and an omniscient sage. In our globally networked society, all knowledge is turned into electronic data and assembled online. Who takes the mastermind's place today? AI generates, structures, and customizes big data. With AI, did we open Pendoran’s, er…, Pandora’s box?

Artists

Nora Al-Badri & Jan Nikolai Nelles (DE), Jonas Blume (DE) Justine Emard (FR), Carla Gannis (US), Sofian Audrey and Erin Gee (CAN), Liat Grayver (ISR/DE), Faith Holland (US), Tuomas A. Laitinen (FI), and William Latham (UK)

A first glimpse of the exhibition will be presented during the META Marathon, a novel technology festival of 42 hours with non-stop exhibitions, talks, performances, concerts, and workshops on the subject of Artificial Intelligence. The META Marathon, where visitors can also stay overnight, will take place from 25 to 27 May 2018 at the NRW Forum Dusseldorf.

https://www.metamarathon.net/

In the context of the exhibition, ARTGATE Consulting designs events for companies at the NRW Forum Duesseldorf. Both traditional customer loyalty events as well as conferences/symposia can be realised on order. Further information: http://artgateconsulting.com/

IMAGES

It is permissible to use at no charge the pictorial material listed here for topic-oriented reporting (in print- and online-media as well as via social-media channels) and with inclusion of the indicated photo credit. The exemption from utilization fees expires six weeks after the end of the exhibition.

In the case of an article or reprint, we would be pleased to receive a copy at presse@nrw-forum.de or NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, Pressestelle, Ehrenhof 2, 40479 Düsseldorf. Thank you.

The NRW-Forum Düsseldorf is an international exhibition venue with a focus on photography, pop, and digital culture. Its interdisciplinary program addresses current social themes through group and solo exhibitions, festivals, and workshops. Featuring classics of photography, digital mavericks, young creators, and experimental event formats, the NRW-Forum thinks of itself as a vibrant idea factory and a place for experiments and dialogue—in both real and virtual space. As part of its goal to offer innovative event formats and exhibition projects on digital art and internet phenomena, the NRW-Forum was the first exhibition venue in the world to open an entirely virtual exhibition, Unreal, in its specially-designed digital annex in 2017. www.nrw-forum.de

ARTGATE Consulting is an art consultancy company based in Düsseldorf, founded in January 2013 by Leoni Spiekermann. ARTGATE’s projects bridge commerce and art, connecting people through tailor-made exhibitions, art events, conferences, festive occasions, and educational programs. Its bespoke art concepts serve as platforms to communicate new products and services to exclusive audiences, in line with new technologies and emerging art markets like China. In the context of the exhibition PENDORAN VINCI: Art and Artificial Intelligence Today, ARTGATE Consulting designs corporate events and conferences to sensibilize both entrepreneurs and the public to the status of AI advancement and its possible social impacts through art. www.artgateconsulting.com

peer to space is an international exhibition hub. It is not an actual place but occupies other spaces. peer to space collaborates with museums, galleries, and diverse art institutions around the globe. peer to space realizes artistic exhibitions that deal with the world we live in now, with a focus on immersive technologies and the impact of the digital and the Internet on individual environments and society. www.peertospace.eu

This project was funded by the European Regional Development Fund