Renaissance 2.0 – the exhibition
Transdisciplinary Collective Exhibition
The prequel :
In autumn 2021, SZKMD production had the immense pleasure and honour of seeing the Renaissance project selected by the City of Geneva for a three-week exhibition at the Commun. The project looked at how transdisciplinary collaborations between the arts and sciences could challenge established, but now rather obsolete, notions and beliefs between the two fields. The exhibition was based around works of art produced by scientists (physicists and mathematicians) for whom the points of contact between science and art are obvious. These visual and sound installations were complemented by events involving collaborations with contemporary dancers, musicians (classical and experimental), experts in blockchain and literature, and we offered events in the form of discussions, performances and lectures on a wide variety of subjects.
We put a lot of work into the conceptualisation and construction of this exhibition, which really turned into a transdisciplinary convention. Most of the visitors had never had the opportunity to interact physically with a work of art. Nor did they have much experience of such a wide range of transdisciplinary engagements and productions. Many visitors came back to see a particular section of the exhibition, or to ask questions, or to listen to a talk after their visit. We were surprised by such enthusiasm and personal commitment, and quite simply by the interactions that this project generated.
The project below was also inspired by the reactions of visitors who seemed to find themselves in an unfamiliar world and wondered about the reality of certain installations. Indeed, the question Is it real? came up several times. Some visitors wondered whether the projections on the walls were simply luminous wallpaper. Others couldn't believe that they had to interact with The Sonic Tree installation to activate it and make it work. As researchers, we found these questions stimulating and amusing. As artists, we knew there was something there. So we imagined taking this question as the operational paradigm for this new project: Renaissance 2.0.
Next:
But operational paradigms, however fun and stimulating they may be, need a ground, a place, an anchor point, a mechanism to set in motion. In the autumn of 2023, when the preparation of this project was still in its early stages, one subject in particular seemed to be gaining in media velocity: artificial intelligence. However, despite the fact that new technologies have always been part of the history of the modern West, the media coverage of the opaque and alarmist discourse surrounding this subject today is helping to weave a sense of imminent danger for the majority of the Western population.
Far from taking a naively optimistic view, or proposing an even more catastrophic scenario, we thought it would be constructive to present an exhibition that imagines collaborations between humans and technology that create new artistic forms and new ways of connecting with the world. Renaissance 2.0 was born out of a desire to showcase works, narratives and experiences that imagine and give shape to these kinds of questions and trajectories. It also draws its inspiration from the ideas developed by science fiction writers such as Asimov, or the famous Richard Brautigan poem All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace, which remind us that technology, robotics and the digital world are tools and that we can use them in a benevolent way.
Renaissance 2.0 questions the real through transdisciplinary collaborations between the arts, sciences and humanities, and focuses on notions of artificial intelligence - virtual reality and augmented reality in particular. The exhibition also aims to stimulate dialogue around what we commonly call the real by offering points of entry. Renaissance 2.0 functions as a prism through which this complex concept can be apprehended, with each installation and the programmed events functioning as one of its facets.
In autumn 2021, SZKMD production had the immense pleasure and honour of seeing the Renaissance project selected by the City of Geneva for a three-week exhibition at the Commun. The project looked at how transdisciplinary collaborations between the arts and sciences could challenge established, but now rather obsolete, notions and beliefs between the two fields. The exhibition was based around works of art produced by scientists (physicists and mathematicians) for whom the points of contact between science and art are obvious. These visual and sound installations were complemented by events involving collaborations with contemporary dancers, musicians (classical and experimental), experts in blockchain and literature, and we offered events in the form of discussions, performances and lectures on a wide variety of subjects.
We put a lot of work into the conceptualisation and construction of this exhibition, which really turned into a transdisciplinary convention. Most of the visitors had never had the opportunity to interact physically with a work of art. Nor did they have much experience of such a wide range of transdisciplinary engagements and productions. Many visitors came back to see a particular section of the exhibition, or to ask questions, or to listen to a talk after their visit. We were surprised by such enthusiasm and personal commitment, and quite simply by the interactions that this project generated.
The project below was also inspired by the reactions of visitors who seemed to find themselves in an unfamiliar world and wondered about the reality of certain installations. Indeed, the question Is it real? came up several times. Some visitors wondered whether the projections on the walls were simply luminous wallpaper. Others couldn't believe that they had to interact with The Sonic Tree installation to activate it and make it work. As researchers, we found these questions stimulating and amusing. As artists, we knew there was something there. So we imagined taking this question as the operational paradigm for this new project: Renaissance 2.0.
Next:
But operational paradigms, however fun and stimulating they may be, need a ground, a place, an anchor point, a mechanism to set in motion. In the autumn of 2023, when the preparation of this project was still in its early stages, one subject in particular seemed to be gaining in media velocity: artificial intelligence. However, despite the fact that new technologies have always been part of the history of the modern West, the media coverage of the opaque and alarmist discourse surrounding this subject today is helping to weave a sense of imminent danger for the majority of the Western population.
Far from taking a naively optimistic view, or proposing an even more catastrophic scenario, we thought it would be constructive to present an exhibition that imagines collaborations between humans and technology that create new artistic forms and new ways of connecting with the world. Renaissance 2.0 was born out of a desire to showcase works, narratives and experiences that imagine and give shape to these kinds of questions and trajectories. It also draws its inspiration from the ideas developed by science fiction writers such as Asimov, or the famous Richard Brautigan poem All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace, which remind us that technology, robotics and the digital world are tools and that we can use them in a benevolent way.
Renaissance 2.0 questions the real through transdisciplinary collaborations between the arts, sciences and humanities, and focuses on notions of artificial intelligence - virtual reality and augmented reality in particular. The exhibition also aims to stimulate dialogue around what we commonly call the real by offering points of entry. Renaissance 2.0 functions as a prism through which this complex concept can be apprehended, with each installation and the programmed events functioning as one of its facets.