ART & DESIGN

“Ghosts in the Machine” at the New Museum

In a world filled with ever-advancing technologies, there's simply no way to either avoid or dismiss its impact on our lives. In a show as expansive as the subject itself, New York City's New Museum explores the relationships between people, technology, and art.

by Natasha Sultan

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In a world filled with ever-advancing technologies, there’s simply no way to either avoid or dismiss its impact on our lives. In a show as expansive as the subject itself, New York City’s New Museum explores the relationships between people, technology, and art. The 140 works in “Ghosts in the Machine”—the exhibition was put together by Massimiliano Gionni, the museum’s associate director—takes up all three of the museum’s main galleries and features work by over seventy artists spanning over fifty years.

The work on display includes a vast array of mediums, with conventional paintings, photo installations, Op Art, and experimental film only hinting at the breadth of forms. (There’s also a reconstruction of Wilhelm Reich’s infamous Orgone Energy Accumulator machine from 1940, which was supposed to unblock everything in us that needed unblocking, though sadly it’s not for public use.) (Through September 30; newmuseum.org)

Photo: Benoit Pailley/ courtesy of New Museum, New York