me + you, The Smithsonian
Public Art — 2022
me + you is an interactive artificial intelligence (AI) and light sculpture, commissioned for the rotunda at the Arts and Industries Building of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, as part of the “FUTURES” exhibition. This two-story installation, the first major art commission by Amazon Web Services (AWS), was curated by Isolde Brielmaier and weaved human wisdom and intelligent technology together.
Technology has brought us immeasurable knowledge, but it is our human imprint on this knowledge that shapes its being in the world around us. Weaving the wisdom of humans and the intelligence of technology together, me + you is an interactive sculpture created through combined strengths, as an emblem for a positive future of coevolution.
The sculpture invited viewers to actively participate by speaking a word about their future into the cloud base at designated points. Acting as an emotional translator, me + you then reflected back a unique kinetic mandala to each visitor. This process, powered by AI and machine learning (ML) technology from AWS, transformed each person’s vision of the future into intricate patterns within a 20-foot-tall totem, creating a collective vision of our humanness.
This groundbreaking installation attracted over 650,000 visitors in just eight months and achieved over 10 billion media impressions, underlining its significant impact. Discover more about me + you in Arch Digest magazine.
"With me+you, we needed to address the possible relationship between humans and technology. I came up with this idea of turning the vibration of sound into the vibration of light, playing with emotion through technology.”
