Computer worlds

Since the second half of the 20^th century, artists, designers and architects have constantly adopted technological tools, subverted their uses and expanded their potential through innovative, critical and experimental approaches. From the emergence of cybernetics in the 1950s to recent developments around artificial intelligence and NFTs, the exhibition explores the never-ending history of connections between art and technology. 

Through nearly 180 works – digital and graphic pieces, installations, architectural models and design objects – and archival documents, “Computer Worlds” offers ways to interpret the relationship between art and technology. It sheds light on the artistic potential of computers and gives a voice to artists who draw on contemporary developments such as AI, simulation, living things and networks with an innovative and critical lens. 

The exhibition is part of an intersectional narrative combining new media, design and architecture, created from the multidisciplinary and prospective collection of Centre Pompidou. It fosters dialogue between major works in the collection (Fred Forest, Herbert Franke, Manfred Mohr, Vera Molnar, members of the Vincennes Art and Computer Science Group, etc.) and more recent acquisitions (Cory Arcangel, Kourosh Asgar-Irani, Agnieszka Kurant, Neri Oxman, Mika Tajima, Lu Yang, etc.) as well as rare archival documents that retrace the creative process of leading artists and designers (Vera Molnar, Ettore Sottsass, etc.)