‘Sentinel Is Watching You’ at Purdue Galleries; AI meets art

Purdue University Galleries will exhibit a collection of work by artist Björn Schülke, titled “Sentinel is Watching You,” starting Nov. 5. The exhibition will be in the Stewart Center’s Robert L. Ringel Gallery through Dec. 8. (Purdue University image) Download image

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Imagine an art exhibition featuring robo-kinetic sculptures that monitor and react to your movements as you explore the gallery.

Purdue University Galleries will exhibit a collection of work by artist Björn Schülke starting Nov. 5.  The exhibition will be in the Stewart Center’s Robert L. Ringel Gallery through Dec. 8.

“Sentinel is Watching You” is presented in partnership with the 2018 Dawn or Doom Conference on Nov. 5 and 6, which is currently in its fifth year and explores themes such as artificial intelligence, genetic engineering and more. “Sentinel is Watching You” explores these ideas with an exhibition of works that have been described as “a unique blend of utopian and dystopian machinic visions.”

Schülke lives and works in Cologne, Germany, and has exhibited in Europe, North America, and Australia. His sculptures move through complex cycles of communication and movement using infrared surveillance, motion sensors, solar panels, sound and air propulsion.  These artworks observe visitors moving through the gallery space a react in a variety of ways — watching, changing, and shifting.

Schülke is presenting "Surveillance Sculptures" during Dawn or Doom at 10:15-11 a.m. Stewart Center, Room 278 on Nov. 6.

Dawn or Doom is aligned with Purdue's Giant Leaps Sesquicentennial Campaign and is part of the Ideas Festival theme, Giant Leaps in Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms, and Automation: Balancing Humanity and Technology. The Ideas Festival is the centerpiece of the campaign and connects world-renowned speakers and Purdue expertise in a conversation on the most critical problems and opportunities facing the world.

Purdue Galleries will host an opening reception for “Sentinel is Watching You” in Ringel Gallery at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 8. At the reception, Schülke will comment on his work and the exhibition.    

Robert L. Ringel Gallery is located in Stewart Center, 128 Memorial Mall, West Lafayette, and is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday. All Purdue Galleries exhibits and events are free and open to the public. For class and group visits, contact Erika Kvam at Purdue Galleries at 765-494-3061. For more information, visit http://www.purdue.edu/galleries or follow @PurdueGalleries on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Purdue News Service: Joe Paul, 765-494-9541, paul102@purdue.edu

Source: Erika Kvam, program coordinator for Purdue Galleries, 765-494-3061, ekvam@purdue.edu