The impact of technology on how we experience theÌıworld creates both new possibilities and a host ofÌıpractical and ethical questions. But Tiffany Calvert, anÌıassociate professor in UofL’s Hite Institute of Art + Design,Ìıis looking for answers — and to find them, she’s goingÌıstraight to the source.

In her “Machine Vision Series,â€� Calvert partners withÌıher own virtual apprentice, a bot trained to paint as herÌıcollaborator. Calvert believes working with AI can help usÌıunderstand its implications and explore the blurring lineÌıbetween what we see and what’s real.

“I often get asked, ‘is AI your collaborator or your antagonist?’ � said Calvert, one of many at UofL exploring the world through creativity. “The answer is that it’s complicated. I’m working with AI in a way that both criticizes its vulnerabilities and has a healthy appreciation of what it can do.�

ART DOTCOMÌı

Cutting her artistic teeth at the height of the ‘90s Dotcom bubble, Calvert has long been fascinated with the intersection of art and technology. Then, traditional forms of visual expression were converging with new digital tools for photo-editing and design.Ìı

“There was something exciting about that convergence and the fact that I could use these tools to build something creative,â€� she said. In a way, Calvert saw technology as a medium similar to charcoals or paint. But as technology has advanced, now capable of its own analysis and decision-making, it’s become more of an artistic partner.ÌıÌı

For her “Machine Vision Series,â€� Calvert trained her AI collaborator by feeding it more than 1,000 historical still life paintings of tulips in bloom. It’s a technique known as machine learning, where a computer is shown examples to learn what something looks like — be it cars, crosswalks or frescos.ÌıÌı

After a while, the AI could recognize the tulips and begin to ‘paint’ its own. Calvert would paint, then the computer, then Calvert again, caking on thick, colorful globs of oil pigment to differentiate herself from the machine.ÌıÌı

The partnership might seem counterintuitive. Art, after all, is built on humanity and meaningful imperfection, but you’d expect a computer algorithm — something literally built on logic — to produce only the predictable and perfect.ÌıÌı

But when the AI painted, it wasn’t perfect. The algorithm can only interpret based on what it’s seen before, and sometimes, it misinterpreted or made logical leaps. Some AI-generated tulips were distorted in interesting and unpredictable ways like confusing the bulb of a flower with, say, an oyster or halved peach.ÌıÌıÌı

“Those distortions behave like a mutating virus,â€� Calvert said. “It’s interesting, because while it’s incredible that the technology can generate beautiful imagery, those misinterpretations reveal the underlying humanity in the code, and the biases inherent in datasets.â€�Ìı

THE HUMANITYÌı

While flowers that look like peaches might seem like a problem, for Calvert, it’s a good thing. Artists are much more interested problems than answers.ÌıÌı

“That’s where the interesting stuff happens,â€� she said. “These problems allow me to explore larger issues. How is this a metaphor for technology infecting our world and what precedents are out there?â€�Ìı

AI can be a powerful tool, she said, but it’s only as good as its human creators and users — who aren’t always clear, make mistakes and sometimes behave irresponsibly, irrationally or maliciously.Ìı

“The technology is obviously only as good as the information we give it, how we program it and how we use it,â€� she said. “That’s the underlying paradox, the humanity in the machine.â€�ÌıÌı

Take the technology that created the tulips in Calvert’s paintings. Those specific tulips are the result of creative farming — a plant virus that boomed during the 17th century Dutch Golden Age, creating an explosion of new and unique tulip colors and variants.Ìı

That virus underpinned Tulip Mania, the first speculative bubble of the modern era, where the flowers were as much an investment and status symbol as decoration. Dutch consumers might have purchased a tulip bulb for more than the average salary.Ìı

“When Tulip Mania happened, the technology got way out of control from both an economic perspective and a biological one, where it’s now a problem for farmers,â€� Calvert said. “So humans, in their hubris, didn’t understand the destruction they’ve created.â€�Ìı

That’s why, Calvert said, it’s important to take a critical eye to technology and understand its implications. For example, with AI technology readily available and the content it creates surging across the internet, a recent Forbes survey shows some 75% of consumers worry AI will be used for misinformation.Ìı

“It’s interesting to explore, because AI is both really critical to solving important problems and at the same time, it depends on who programs and uses it,â€� she said. “Painting has always adopted and responded to new technologies, as a ways of examining our perception of the world.â€�Ìı

During the April 20 event, participants of CeLOUbrate Print engaged in printmaking by creating large, hand-carved wooden stamps, or “woodcuts� and driving over them with a steamroller. With a quick training, a driver’s license and a rental steamroller, Singel was prepared to operate this unique printing press.

“The whole premise is building community,â€� Singel said. “One of the many reasons I fell in love with printmaking is it’s the democratic multiple. Where would we be without printmaking in terms of it is the way that we disseminate information?â€�

This art process involves creating an image via a woodcut, etching or engraving and using ink to create copies on paper or canvas like a stamp. Lithography and screen-printing are also forms of printmaking. An original work can be replicated endlessly with basic supplies and processes which eliminate boundaries to sharing work or marketing art.

Printmaking is inherently collective by nature and is a simple form of mass production of artistic work. The creation, production and sharing of a print can all be completed by one operator, removing many obstacles to sharing artwork or messages to build community connections. Additionally, many prints will have small variances from shifting equipment or blotting ink so despite being a mostly mechanical process, each print will have its own unique characteristics and value from the artist’s production.

“When people pull their very first print, it’s this really magical moment because their mind is blown, but they also understand exactly how and why it’s happening,â€� Lewis said. “You get to watch the light bulb go off.â€�

In addition to UofL, several sponsors and local businesses supported Singel and Lewis in their effort to bring more people together through CeLOUbrate Print and its workshops including Fund for the Arts, Printed Zine and Portland Museum. UofL alumni William Smith served as Lewis’s collaborator from Portland Museum and assisted with grant writing, advertising and planning the event over eight months.

Ahead of CeLOUbrate Print, Lewis organized over a dozen woodblock carving workshops to help prepare participants to make prints with the steamroller press. The workshops were an addition from Singel’s steamroller press events in previous years. Lewis’s passion for the project comes out of the desire to make printmaking more accessible and this is the driving goal of their studies in printmaking and public humanities.

“Printmakers assume things have to be in a very specific way, your borders have to be clean, no smudges so it’s usually done in a shop – it’s done with a press,â€� Lewis said. “It’s done this way, so I really wanted to have an event that not only made people know what printmaking is, but it also made that knowledge accessible and doable in your kitchen.â€�

Alongside the CeLOUbrate Print event, the Portland Museum unveiled a new printmaking exhibit titled The museum invited Louisville printmakers to display their work but encouraged the featured artists to invite other printmakers from outside the region to also participate. The exhibit is a practice of building connections between Louisville’s artists and other pockets of printmakers across the nation. “Shop Talk� will be on display at the Portland Museum until the end of August.

To keep up with UofL’s art students and programming, visit .

That work will be part of the 2022 , a free and open-to-the-public national celebration of arts, science and innovation across Atlantic Coast Conference universities and the Smithsonian Institution. The two exhibits from UofL are:

• , focusing on NASA-sponsored UofL research, dubbed the w“Aqueous Immersion Surgical Systemâ€� (AISS). This system provides wound containment for astronauts needing surgical treatment on extended space missions, and last year, was tested in weightlessness as a payload aboard a suborbital space flight by Virgin Galactic. The UofL research team includes professor George Pantalos (School of Medicine) and assistant professor Tommy Roussel (J.B. Speed School of Engineering), along with students Dalton Aubrey, Kessalyn Kelly and Sienna Shacklette.
• , an art and tech installation that engages with issues on
  

  

  
  drones, domestication and the non-human. The ‘Floating Room’ is composed of household products ‘floating’ because they are semi-autonomous drones. These floating objects maintain their conventional function while also aerodynamically traversing their airspace; for example, a lamp can both fly and emit light and a clock can both fly and tell time. The UofL team includes artist and assistant professor Samuel Swope (Hite Art Institute), along with students Mahika Gupta, Kelsey Shaw-Kaufman and Shachaf Polakow.

“There’s a lot happening at UofL with the potential for huge public impact across a range of disciplines, and this is a great opportunity to showcase that work,� said Paul DeMarco, interim director of UofL’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity in the Center for Engaged Learning, and a professor of psychological and brain sciences. DeMarco, who plans to attend, organized UofL’s involvement and oversaw the proposal process for the student-faculty teams involved.

Kevin Gardner, UofL’s executive vice president of research and innovation, said the UofL work being exhibited at this year’s ACCelerate Festival is proof-positive of the university’s commitment to exploration and shattering established paradigms.

“UofL faculty, staff and students are incredible engines of innovation and creativity,� he said. “These projects are great examples of that strength, and we’re excited to join our ACC colleagues and share that work with the world.�

You might meander over to Schneider Hall Galleries, for example, to peruse Hite’s current exhibition: “.�

The show, which runs through Aug. 30, investigates mental health and the healing process known as post-trauma growth, the sense of well-being after a traumatic event.

It features 10 local artists, many of them UofL alumni, and was curated by two Hite students, Sara Cissell and Diana Dillman. Cissell is graduating with her BA in Art History and Humanities this fall, while Dillman graduated last year and now works at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

The idea was born in their Art History Capstone class. The two began talking about mental health and how to facilitate healthy, open dialogue about the topic.

“When people think about mental health, most people think of the term as negative. Sara and I wanted to shine a more positive light on these issues. We want to spark positive conversations around mental health. By including artists in our show who share their own experiences with trauma/mental health, it encourages others to spark recovery in themselves,� Dillman said.

Cissel said the topic is particularly close to her as she has depression and anxiety.

“Mental health is one of those topics that no one knows how to talk about. Even though this is a topic I know very well from my own experiences, I don’t know how other people feel. How do you go about breaking down those barriers in a constructive way?â€� she said.

After conceiving of the show, they reached out to local artists they know and admire and asked for submissions.

Many of the featured artists have experienced their own trauma and used art to document healing or progression. For example, Megan Bickel, a Hite MFA candidate, created a piece that suggests illusions surrounding truth through mimicking patterns and textiles that cause discomfort and confusion.

Other artists focused on the soothing effects of healing. Andrew and Simon Cozzens’ visual and sound installation piece “Mind Full Change� shows the visual effects of the brain, as if the viewer were looking at a CT scan. By manipulating color pigments to move along the platforms with a binaural beat, the red color eventually becomes blue, which symbolizes calm.

Then there are artists who embrace both the chaos and reflective qualities of mental health. Brianna Harlan and Tammy Richardson’s installation piece “Living Room� creates a cozy, safe space with a couch, lamps and photographs of both public and intimate spaces void of human life.

“I’d had Sara Cissel and Diana Dillman in classes before this one, so I already knew that they were smart, hard-working, knowledgeable and perceptive. Having said that, the show that they co-curated stunned me with its excellence on multiple levels,â€� said Benjamin Hufbauer, assistant professor of art history. “Sara and Diana created a show that is so rich and rewarding visually, but also connects emotionally and conceptually in different ways with different people… I recommend everyone interested in the topic go see this show by these amazing and generous talents, who did all the work involved as a public service.â€�

Hite Art Institute presents “,”Ìıan exhibition of mixed media drawings and assemblage sculptures by California artist Joan Tanner, on view Sept. 14 through Oct. 27 in the .

The traveling exhibition is organized by Julien Robson, independent curator and director of in Kentucky, and a friend of Tanner’s.

“Joan is compelled by a curiosity to engage contradiction and an impulse to disrupt assumptions about spatial relations,â€�Ìısaid Robson, who served as curator of contemporary art at the from 2000 to 2008.

Over a career spanning six decades, Tanner’s art has developed across disciplines to encompass many media, including painting, photography, video, sculpture and assemblage. With an instinctive resistance to conventional ideas of order, she has created provocative works that defy simple categorization and sometimes logic.

She has exhibited across the U.S. since 1968, beginning shortly after she moved to Southern California from the Midwest. Her work is held in a number of collections, including The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles; Harvard University, Houghton Library, Department of Printing and Graphics, Cambridge, Massachusetts; New York Public Library, Spencer Collection; Speed Art Museum and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California.Ìı

Tanner has also served as a visiting lecturer at the University of California Santa Barbara; Ohio University in Athens; Illinois State University at Normal and, most recently, as an artist-in-residence at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Tanner’s current exhibition has traveled to numerous other galleries this year, including theÌıTaubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Virginia.Ìı

that Tanner’s art hasn’t been given the exposure it deserves,Ìı which is part of why he created this show.

“In recent years, there has been a growth of interest in older woman artists who have been overlooked,� he said.

There will be a lecture associated with the show 7-8 p.m., Sept. 13 in room 100 ofÌıBingham Humanities building.Ìı

The is 6-8 p.m.,Sept. 14 at the Cressman Center, 100 E. Main St.

The prestigious $5,000 award is an opportunity for local artists to enhance their careers through a targeted enrichment experience of their own design.

“My most recent body work has been on Jewish memory, identity and legacy,” said Szwedzinski. “As an artist, I am continually mindful of who I intend as my audience. I question why it is important for me to make work about Judaism and how my work connects to contemporary issues.â€�

Szwedzinski will use the award to visit the Jewish Contemporary Museum and the Holocaust Center in San Francisco, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Archives in Washington, D.C., and the Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as well as to take a course at the Rare Book School in Philadelphia.

“I believe that the act of remembering is a powerful tool in fostering empathy and breaking barriers of bias,” Szwedzinski said. “It’s important, now more than ever, to remind people that when true diversity is present in a community is when we all thrive.”

honored Szwedzinski with a June 21.

The Hadley Prize is awarded from the George and Mary Alice Hadley Fund at the . Focused on the arts and humanities, particularly visual arts, crafts, theater and the Louisville Free Public Library, the endowment has supported the community for more than 25 years.

The winner is selected through a blind process by a diverse panel of arts professionals from Louisville and the surrounding area. The 2018 prize drew 40 applicants from the greater Louisville area, including Southern Indiana, whose work demonstrated mastery in ceramics, graphic design, drawing, crafts, painting, photography, sculpture, video, film and printmaking.

“Art soothes and calms our collective souls. Art causes us to question and to think. Through the years, art has been used to tell the story of those who came before. The work of KCJ Szwedzinski is powerful and will cause those who see her work to pause and reflect on this horrific period in our history,â€� said LVA’s Executive Director,ÌıLindy Casebier. “Louisville Visual Art is pleased to partner with the Community Foundation of Louisville in support of KCJ’s growth as an artist and in turn share that personal growth with others in our community.â€�

Szwedzinski’s itinerary has been designed to fuse personal history and artistic inspiration, “to synthesize seemingly disparate bodies of knowledge – archival practices for historical information and my personal inherited legacies.”

“This experience will broaden my ability to make work that is rooted in my own Judaic heritage,� said Szwedzinski, “while facilitating engagement of a more universal audience.�

The Hadley Prize is just one of the ways that the Community Foundation of Louisville supports local artists. Hadley Creatives is the Foundation’s six-month comprehensive professional development program for working artists that recently celebrated its inaugural class with an exhibition running through July 1 at . Five Hite graduates participated in theÌıprogram and exhibition: Miranda Becht (MFA 2017),ÌıSandra Charles (BFA 2015),ÌıRebecca Norton (BFA 2004), Cynthia Norton (MAT 2004) and Autumn Lindsey (BFA 2017).

Last year, University of Louisville officials began an of the 28-year-old , offering students more than 112,000 square feet of additional or renovated dining, retail, meeting and office space.

As part of that project, there will be a new campus visitor space in the SAC – theÌıHerman and Heddy Kurz Visitors Room – where potential students will meet admissions officials, pick up campus information and embark on campus tours. For many potential students and their families, this space will be their first impression of UofL.

Project directors envision placing two murals on walls there that creatively represent UofL’s personality and traditions, while generating a sense of pride and excitement.

UofL is issuing a request for submissions for mural concepts from the creative minds who know the institution best: our own. Artists and designers who work at UofL, are currently enrolled or have graduated from UofL are encouraged to submit concept proposals.Ìı

“We hope to highlight the talent and creativity of our alumni working within the fields of art and design and bolster ties to the community,” said Kim Butterweck, director of communication initiatives. “If designed by UofL students or alumni, then the murals become an interesting talking point for our tour guides. Our hope is the campus visit area in the SAC becomes one of UofL’s most unique and often-photographed spots on campus, while also contributing to our city’s public art offerings.”

One goal is to harness the power of social media with one of the murals. It’s envisioned as a ‘selfie wall’Ìı– a backdrop that will inspire students and potential students to take their photos and proudly share them to their social media accounts.

As currently conceived, the two interior murals will be two-dimensional and printed on vinyl, with UofL vendors handling installation. However, project directors are open to other, more innovative types of murals, installations or materials that achieve project goals.

If interested in submitting a concept, click here to request the official Request for Submissions, which contains additional project information and guidelines. The project is a paid opportunity.Ìı

, a Hite Art Institute professor, is creating “,� a “collaborative, experimental exhibition that examines the meeting point between photography, landscape and astronomy.�

Carothers has pulled a team of 17 photographers together to shoot the eclipse, with at least one in each of the 12 states in which the eclipse passes with totality. They’ll use a new technique called slow scan photography, which captures reality in a slow scanning motion across a scene, offering a new twist on the traditional long exposure. The culminating images of the eclipse willÌıbe made of nearly 4,000 to 5,000 photographs.

The “Overshadowedâ€� images will be on display at the Cressman Center for Visual Arts, 100 E. Main St., Sept.Ìı22 through Oct. 28.

The opening reception for the show, which is part of the , is 5-6 p.m. Oct. 6 during the First Friday Gallery Hop.

Carothers co-created the project with British photographer , a pioneer of the slow scan technique. As a UofL Liberal Studies visiting scholar, he’ll give a talk titled “Space, Place and Time,” from 4-5 p.m. Oct. 2 in the Chao Auditorium of Ekstrom Library. The lecture will overview his 30 years of experimenting with photography and video and will include work on the total solar eclipse and the aurora borealis.Ìı

On Monday, Carothers and McClave will be in South Carolina to shoot the eclipse as it departsÌıAmerican soil and heads out over the Atlantic Ocean.

Others from UofL are involved in “Overshadowed” as well:

• Photography professor Mitch Eckert and incoming MFA photography candidate Zed Saeed will cover different locations in Kentucky.
• UofLÌıAstronomy Professor Benne Holwerda, who is the resident astronomer at Kentucky Dam, will contributeÌıfrom that location.
• John Jaynes, UofL’sÌıAssistant Director of Sponsored Program Development and an astronomy and photography buff,Ìıwill shoot from a pontoon in the Land Between the Lakes.
• Several Hite photo alumni will be stationed in other states: Kelsi Wermuth in Oregon, Mary Yates in Illinois, Laura Arrot Hartford in Tennessee and Jimmy Devore in North Carolina.

“For me, this is like a grand performance,â€� Carothers said. “Each photographer will soonÌıbeÌıconnected byÌıforcesÌımuch greater than time and landscape. I do have at least oneÌıphotographer positioned in every eclipse state …Ìıbut when it comes to thinking about this rareÌıoccurrence,Ìıstate lines are merelyÌıman made boundaries.â€�

.

She would draw a picture a day of her life here.

“I’m new here, it’s a new city, and the best way for me to understand it is to draw it,â€� she said.

The daily practice resulted in “,� 365 drawings in seven accordion style notebooks. While the drawings are stylistically similar, subjects range from moments of reflection and snapshots of work life to sketches of many of Louisville’s most beloved haunts and traditions, like the Palace Theatre and the triple crown of running. Intrinsic in the series is a sense of discovery in what Louisville long-timers would consider familiar.

One of the notebooks from the collection is on display in “â€� the current exhibition of work by new Hite Art faculty at the Cressman Center, 100 E. Main St. The entire collection is also on Instagram: . ÌıÌı

Khalili said several factors inspired the daily practice.

A Washington, D.C. native, she had lived in several cities in quick succession before landing in Louisville, including Richmond, Virginia, where she earned her BFA and MFA at Virginia Commonwealth University, School of the Arts.

“I was happy to settle down for a minute,� she said.

At the time, Louisville was grieving the loss of Muhammad Ali.

The rich outpouring of respect at Cave Hill Cemetery assured her that Louisville was a special place.

“I thought this city deserves a real homage. It deserves to be dug into and discovered and for me to understand where I landed.�

She had already begun drawing intentionally as a way to discover place on motorcycle trips she had taken down the east coast.

“I wanted to take a practice I did for fun and put into daily practice,� she said. “The ritual of drawing strengthens my visual skills.�

Khalili’s ‘Type Hike’ poster also on display ÌıÌı

Khalili’s work will also be on display in an exhibition entitled “” in Schneider Galleries Aug. 18-Sept. 22.

“Type Hike” is a collection of artistic posters that celebrate the National Park Service.

Designers David RygiolÌıandÌıJames Louis Walker created the project last year to raise money for national parks during its centennial celebration. They invited graphic artists from across the country to submit a poster for each national park. The resulting 60 posters reflected each park’s unique landscape through highly stylized typography.

Khalili created the poster for .

“I was honored to be included among so many award-winning, internationally recognized designers,� Khalili said. “This project also allowed me to see my work do some good and that’s very gratifying.�

Proceeds from print sales have raised thousands of dollars for the National Park Service at a time when federal funding has been cut.

“Type Hike� has been exhibited in galleries across the country, added to the permanent collection of the Library of Congress and received considerable national media attention.

The project recently expanded to include the National Park Services’ protected sea and lakeshores and endangered species.

Khalili noted that “New in Lou” and “Type Hike” both reflect geography, as is often the case with her work. As a first-generation Iranian American, she’s deeply influenced by geography, impermanence and history. Her academicÌıresearch explores typography and Persian calligraphy through multimodal media and focuses on design, illustration and book art. HerÌımoving typography work will be showing in Jakarta, Indonesia this fall.Ìı

See more of her design work .

Surrounded by their art, he congratulated Miranda Becht, Tom LeGoff and Marie-Elena Ottman for becoming the first class to graduate from Hite’s Master of Fine Art program. The first courses for the 60 credit hour degree began in 2014. It’s the only MFA program in Louisville.

“I want to thank you for all your work these past three years,� Massey said to resounding applause.

The MFA Thesis Exhibition runs through May 27 in the Cressman. The diversity of art forms in the show reflects the diversity of offerings in the MFA program. Students may choose to practice in a variety of mediums or narrow in on one. Courses include ceramics, drawing, fibers, glass, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, design, mixed media, book arts and new media.

“I loved that the program let me explore,� Ottman said. “It was the perfect opportunity to grow as an artist.�

Her work at the Cressman, titled “Transplant: Fruits of their Labor,â€� features winding vines of ceramic, glass and metal. Ottman, who is from Panama, used the vines to metaphorically consider topics such as immigration, migrant labor and translation. ÌıÌıÌıÌıÌıÌıÌıÌıÌıÌıÌı

Classmate and photographer Tom LeGoff displayed photographic cabinet cards to develop a visual story and mythology of a destroyed town.

He said he perused the MFA to better his craft and to “submerge myself more deeply in photography.”

He hopes to teach and Indiana University Southeast and the University of Kentucky have shown interest.

The program started small with just a few students a year as there wasn’t enough studio space to accommodate more. But, are coming to fruition. Construction begins this month and the space should be ready for students in spring 2018, Massey said.

The Portland space will allow the program to expand and broaden its reach in the city, which can only be a good thing, said Chris Reitz, Hite’s director of galleries.

“Artists trained in the global principles and practice of contemporary art-making are a real benefit to the city,� he said. “You really need an MFA program to become a nationally and internationally recognized arts center.�