Nebraska Public Media and community partners in Lincoln are hosting a free live performance event inspired by artist Leonardo da Vinci’s boundary-pushing curiosity.
“Art & the Machine: A Live Radio Theater Event” begins at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 23 at Sheldon Museum of Art. Admission is free and the event is open to the public, but registration is requested online.
The evening will feature an original radio theater production co-created by members of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. They will use generative AI under the guidance of artists Ash Eliza Smith, Robert Twomey and their team of artists, researchers and students from the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts.
The event will also feature an excerpt from the recent PBS documentary “Leonardo da Vinci” that inspired the radio play, plus insights into a unique artistic process that merges human creativity with artificial intelligence. All videos will be show with open captions and ASL interpretation will be available.
Live audio of the radio play will be available for streaming beginning at approximately 5:45 p.m. on the event's website.
The PBS film “Leonardo da Vinci,” directed and produced by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon, profiles the 15th-century polymath who created some of history’s most revered works of art. Through his paintings and expansive writings, “Leonardo da Vinci” explores one of humankind’s most curious and innovative minds. The film is available for viewing at PBS.org and on the PBS app.
Sheldon Museum of Art is presenting the exhibition, “Infinite Hopper: An Algorithmic Journey Through Light and Space,” from Jan. 21 through July 13. Using generative technology and creating a dialogue between the tradition and the contemporary, the exhibition explores how modern technology can reinterpret and honor fine art. “Infinite Hopper” was created by Dan Novy, assistant professor of emerging media arts.
Local partners for “Art & the Machine: A Live Radio Theater Event” include Nebraska Public Media, Sheldon Museum of Art, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts. This is a Speculative Devices and Cohab Labs co-production.
Local sponsorship of “Leonardo da Vinci” is provided by Metro Gallery Nebraska.
