Visitors Series: Matt Kenyon
Over the past 18 years, Matt Kenyon’s S.W.A.M.P. (Studies of Work Atmosphere and Mass Production) art practice has created a body of work that examines various sociopolitical phenomena. The defining paradigm shift of the last hundred years can be seen as a movement from defining individuals as citizens to seeing corporations as citizens. Partnerships between psychology and industry have also led to a demotion of individual citizens to the role of consumer. Advances in our understanding of how our individual minds work (via neuroscience) have accelerated and expanded upon this post-human shift. As corporations shift from branding products to branding consumers’ experiences, notions of ownership, authenticity, and disobedience become more important than ever before. This talk will raise the question: What will tomorrow’s protest look like?
Matthew Kenyon was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and has an MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is interested in the convergence of art, emerging technologies, and popular culture. Many of his recent works feature interactive computing technologies and artificial intelligence/artificial life as a means for making cultural critique. Kenyon’s artworks have been exhibited internationally at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain; the ZKM Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany; the Czong Institute for Contemporary Art in South Korea; Petrosains Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and the Science Gallery in Dublin, Ireland. After Kenyon exhibited his work Notepad at the Museum of Modern Art, it was acquired for the permanent collection in 2012. In addition to this, his interactive sculpture Tardigotchi was awarded first prize at File Prix Lux in São Paulo, Brazil. His work has been featured in Wired, the Huffington Post, El País, the Globe and Mail, Quartz, Fortune magazine, and the CBC. Kenyon is a TED fellow and presented a TED talk at the TED global conference in Vancouver, Canada. Additionally, Kenyon was recently selected for Coolhunting’s CH25, a showcase of creators and innovators who are working to drive the world forward.
Sponsors
Critical Technology Studies Lab at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications
School of Art & Design Visitors Committee