Maja Petric
Lost Skies
There is only one sky, but the ways we see and interpret it are infinite.
- October 5 - 27, 2017
- Opening: Thursday, October 5
Artist Talk: Thursday, October 19, 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Maja Petric’s computer-generated visualizations attempt to express the essence of our collective gaze. In order to achieve this all-encompassing perspective, she utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) as an artistic tool and combines numerous points of view into individual archetypal images.
Algorithms, developed in collaboration with AI computer scientists Mihai Jalobeanu and Nebojsa Jojic, search the internet and identify manifold views of the sky based on time, location, air pollution, and meteorological data. These complex mathematical systems review the found images, analyze their salient properties, and summarize the data.
The resulting artwork, “painted” by the software, captures the sky as seen through varying human perspectives.
Skies Epitomized is a series of prints that reveal the essence of the sky in different parts of the world. Each image makes known a specific time and place and is paired with a person from that region so that the viewer can see the sky through their eyes.
In Lost Skies, two large-scale lightboxes depict contrasting views on climate change evidence — one based on images of the polluted sky and another illustrating the perspective of a skeptic.
Skies Epitomized of War and Peace juxtaposes what one sees gazing at the sky in peaceful parts of the world with the sky as it is seen in areas of conflict and unrest.
Each day of the exhibition, Petric will generate a new visualization of the sky that is representative of current events. The images will be posted at www.majapetric.com/lost-skies.
About the Artist
Maja Petric works with cutting-edge technology to create spatial experiences that evoke the sublimity of nature. She grew up in Croatia during the violent fragmentation of Yugoslavia and became preoccupied with the use of art to elevate her surroundings. After moving to the United States, she received a Master’s in Interactive Telecommunications from New York University and a PhD in Digital Arts and Experimental Media from the University of Washington. Through her training, Petric discovered that light is one of the most potent tools in shaping people’s experience.
Petric’s art has been exhibited worldwide at venues including the Henry Art Gallery, Medialab Prado, Microsoft Gallery, and Materdo Madrid. She is the recipient of the Microsoft Research Residency Award, Richard Kelly Light Art Award, and a Doctoral Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Her work has been commissioned by Amazon, Microsoft, Kikekeller Gallery, and included in numerous private collections. She teaches internationally and directs a first-of-its-kind Master’s program on Creative Lighting at the European Institute of Design. Petric is currently writing a book on the history of light as an artistic tool, serving as Artist in Residence with the City of Redmond, WA, and developing a large-scale immersive installation, We are All Made of Light, that utilizes interactive lighting driven by artificial intelligence (opening at Seattle’s MadArt Studio in 2018).