New art exhibition explores human identity, in pixels

Written by
Cécile B. Evans (b. 1983, Cleveland, OH)

A new exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara deals with the interplay between technology and human identity. Then they form us plays off a quote by philosopher Marshall McLuhan, who wrote in the 1960s about how technology becomes an extension of ourselves, and influences our experience in the world.

In 2015, with smartphones, robotic cars and facial recognition, his wondering and worrying is just as relevant, if not more.

KCRW’s Jonathan Bastian walked through the exhibition with curator Brooke Kellaway.

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Curator Brooke Kellaway with KCRW’s Jonathan Bastian. Photo: Kathryn Barnes (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)
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Hayal Pozanti (b. 1983, Istanbul, TR) (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

Hayal Pozanti uses her 31-character alphabet to artfully, and disguisedly display big data. She takes a data statistic, such as the number of NYC cops equipped with body cameras during a pilot program, and represents that number using her cipher-system. Pozanti’s work explores the privatization of information and the dissemination of data in the Internet age.

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The MCA will host an opening reception Saturday, August 15th at 6pm. Artist Cecile B. Evans will be giving a special performance lecture, Feeling For You, complete with hyperlinks, google searches and, yes, a bad CGI version of Philip Seymour Hoffman.

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Cécile B. Evans (b. 1983, Cleveland, OH) (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

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