A mushroom growing from a smartwatch. A fossilized flip phone. Tools cast from old iMacs. Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph is set to welcome a free exhibition that asks “What will digital media be, and do, after us?”
“The World After Us: Imaging Techno-Aesthetic Futures,” a solo exhibition by Nathaniel Stern, will be open to view from January 28 – April 9 next year at Krasl. ‘The World After Us’ uses e-waste and plant life to consider our relationship with digital media now and in the future. Through a process of both scientific and artistic experimentation, the exhibition imagines how digital media might look and function after we’re gone – and how we might plan for and act toward these different futures.
“It is impossible for humans to truly fathom our planet on its own terms and at its own size, or conversely from the perspective of bacteria,: Stern said. “But we can feel such things, through art and storytelling – making our aesthetic encounters both conceptually and ethically vital toward new possibilities. ‘The World After Us’ questions how we move, think, feel, and act with the Earth and its inhabitants, both living and otherwise. It suggests alternatives to current modes of life and living, science and sensation, waste and production, perception and action.”
Watch the video below for more on the project:
Stern is an artist, writer, and teacher. He has produced and collaborated on projects ranging from ecological, participatory, and online interventions, interactive, immersive, and mixed reality environments, to prints, sculptures, videos, performances, and hybrid forms. Stern holds a joint appointment at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (UWM), as Professor of Art and Design in Peck School of the Arts and of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. He is also Director of the UWM Startup Challenge, Executive Director of the Autism Brilliance Lab for Entrepreneurship, Co-Founder of the Eco Labs climate action startup, and an Associate Researcher for the University of Johannesburg’s Research Centre on Visual Identities in Art and Design.
Krasl is offering multiple programs related to the exhibition. The exhibition and related programs are free and open to the public, with special opportunities to engage with the artist. All details can be found online at krasl.org/the-world-after-us-imaging-techno-aesthetic-futures
Exhibition Preview: The World After Us
Friday, January 27, 6 – 8 p.m.
Meet the artist, tour the show with him, and learn more about the concept and process behind his work. Music, cash bar, and lite bites provided after the talk.
Workshop With Artist Nathaniel Stern
Saturday, January 28, 10 a.m. – noon
Pre-registered Event; free
Inspired by Stern’s exhibition, and led by the artist himself, participants will dissect old electronics to repurpose them as containers for houseplants.
Artists in Dialogue: Nathaniel Stern & Sasha Stiles
February 18, 10 a.m. – noon
Pre-registered Event; free
Both artists exhibiting at KAC connect for a conversation that considers similarities between their respective work. Stern will be offering a free “air drop” of one of his NFTs related to ‘The World After Us’ for any attendee who has (or signs up for) a Tezos crypto wallet.
