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Metahaven is a research and design studio based in Amsterdam, who work at the 'the cutting edge between communication, aesthetics, and politics. Through books, films, exhibitions and events, they explore the boundaries of art, politics and technology.
The Hard Problem of Art explores the function of art in a time of Artificial Intelligence. In these complicated times, when the power to change things seem out of our grasp, we put a huge weight on art to transform the world; but how? Does beauty matter? Does Art have a moral purpose? As scientists map our brains when we look at a painting, what do these flashing synapses tell us about creativity? Can you tell the difference between work produced by an artist or an AI? Does the price a work sells for on the market reflect its quality? What is the point if art can't reverse climate change?
We are living during a time when everything is up for grabs. But Daniel van Der Velden and Vinca Kruk argue that, in this urgent age, we need to rethink what art does in the world - for the creator, the viewer, the owner. Art is a means of communion. We should stop asking whether we think it is 'good' or not. It is what moves us, and can therefore become the means through which change can happen.
About the author
Metahaven are Vinca Kruk and Daniel van der Velden, Their previous books include
Uncorporate Identity(2010),
Can Jokes Bring Down Governments? (2013),
Black Transparency (2015), and
DigitalTarkovsky (2018). Their films include, Chaos Theory (2021), Hometown (2018), and Information Skies
(2016), nominated for the European Film Awards 2017. True and Eternal Bliss (2022) and Capture (2022).
Metahaven has participated in solo exhibitions at MoMA PS1, New York, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, ICA, London, e-flux, New York, and State of Concept Athens, among others. Their work is in collections of the Sharjah Art Foundation, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, among others.
https://metahaven.net/
