The MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology (ACT) has its origins in the Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

(MIT), an arts and research center founded in 1967 by artist and teacher

György Kepes György Kepes �ɟøɾɟ ˈkɛpɛʃ(October 4, 1906 – December 29, 2001) was a Hungarian-born painter, photographer, designer, educator, and art theorist. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1937, he taught design at the New Bauhaus (later the S ...

. In 2009, CAVS merged with the MIT Visual Arts Program, to become the MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology (ACT). The Program is part of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning.

History

György Kepes, who taught at the New Bauhaus (now the IIT Institute of Design in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

), founded the Center at MIT as a way to encourage artistic collaboration on a large civic scale. During its 45-year existence, the CAVS hosted more than 200 artists and fellows that "pioneered collaborative works in light, kinetic, environmental and inflatable sculpture, laser, steam, video, electronic music, holography, dance, computer graphics and animation, among other media". In 1974,

Otto Piene Otto Piene (pronounced PEE-nah, 18 April 1928 – 17 July 2014) was a German-American artist specializing in kinetic and technology-based art, often working collaboratively. He lived and worked in Düsseldorf, Germany; Cambridge, Massachusetts; a ...

succeeded Kepes as the director of the CAVS. Piene retired in 1994 and the CAVS was taken over by Krzysztof Wodiczko, who, after a hiatus, continued as director. In 2004, Wodiczko brought on board a new staff including Associate Director Larissa Harris, Meg Rotzel, and

Joe Zane Joe Zane (born 1971 in Utica, New York) is an American artist. His work uses painting, sculpture, video, performance and self-deprecating humour to address the themes of authenticity and the role of the artist. He currently lives in Cambridge ...

. The CAVS began a revitalization program which included numerous site visits by international artists, long-term residencies, and the commissioning of new artistic projects. Some of the later visitors included Marjetica Potrč,

Miranda July Miranda July (born Miranda Jennifer Grossinger; February 15, 1974) is an American film director, screenwriter, singer, actress and author. Her body of work includes film, fiction, monologue, digital presentations and live performance art. She w ...

Vito Acconci Vito Acconci (, ; January 24, 1940 – April 27, 2017) was an influential American performance, video and installation artist, whose diverse practice eventually included sculpture, architectural design, and landscape design. His foundational ...

Simon Starling Simon Starling (born 1967) is an English conceptual artist and won the Turner Prize in 2005. Early life Simon Starling was born in 1967 in Epsom, Surrey. He studied photography and art at Maidstone College of Art from 1986 to 1987, then at ...

, Harrell Fletcher,

John Malpede The Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD) is a Los Angeles-based performance group closely tied to the city's Skid Row neighborhood. Founded in 1985 by director and activist John Malpede, LAPD members are mostly homeless or formerly homeless peo ...

, David Robbins, Fritz Haeg, and Mel Chin. The CAVS was originally located at 40 Massachusetts Avenue (MIT Building W11) near the center of the

MIT campus The Massachusetts Institute of Technology occupies a tract in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The campus spans approximately one mile (1.6 km) of the north side of the Charles River basin directly opposite the Back Bay neig ...

, in space vacated by the relocation of the MIT branch of the Harvard/MIT Cooperative Society to the new Stratton Student Center. This CAVS space was later reassigned to on-campus religious counseling groups, and the CAVS was moved to 265 Massachusetts Avenue (MIT Building N52), north of the main campus. In 2009, the CAVS merged with the MIT Visual Arts Program (VAP), to become the MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology (ACT), and moved into a new annex to the

MIT Media Lab The MIT Media Lab is a research laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, growing out of MIT's Architecture Machine Group in the School of Architecture. Its research does not restrict to fixed academic disciplines, but draws from ...

building, at 75 Amherst Street (MIT Building E14). Archives, artworks, and artifacts from the history of the CAVS are preserved in the Center for Advanced Visual Studies Special Collection (CAVSSC). , the collection is being cataloged; items are available to researchers, either remotely or in person, with advance notice.

Fellows

Some of the Center's early fellows included artists

Vassilakis Takis Vassilakis ( gr, Βασιλάκης) is a Greek surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adamantios Vassilakis (1942–2021), Greek diplomat *Christian Vassilakis Christian Vassilakis Garcia (born 28 February 2001), known as Vassi, i ...

, Jack Burnham,

Wen-Ying Tsai Wen-Ying Tsai (; October 13, 1928 – January 2, 2013) was a Chinese-American pioneer cybernetic sculptor and kinetic artist best known for creating sculptures using electric motors, stainless steel rods, stroboscopic light, and audio feed ...

Stan Vanderbeek Stan VanDerBeek (January 6, 1927 – September 19, 1984) was an American experimental filmmaker known for his collage works. Life VanDerBeek studied art and architecture at Manhattan's Cooper Union before transferring to Black Mountain Colleg ...

, Maryanne Amacher,

Joan Brigham Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *: Joan of Arc, a French military heroine *Joan (surname) Weather events * Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...

Lowry Burgess Lowry Burgess (1940 – January 28, 2020) was a conceptual and environmental artist and educator and was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, where he was a Distinguished Fellow in the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry. He also served on the Advi ...

Peter Campus Peter Campus (born 1937 in New York, NY), often styled as peter campus, is an American artist and a pioneer of new media and video art, known for his interactive video installations, single-channel video works, and photography. His work is held i ...

Muriel Cooper Muriel Cooper (1925 – May 26, 1994) was a pioneering book designer, digital designer, researcher, and educator. She was the first design director of the MIT Press, instilling a Bauhaus-influenced design style into its many publications. She mo ...

, Douglas Davis, Susan Gamble, Dieter Jung,

Piotr Kowalski Piotr Kowalski (2 March 1927 – 7 January 2004) was a Polish artist, sculptor, and architect. Kowalski worked in non-traditional materials including electronic and mechanical devices, neon art, large earth works, explosions and other natural phe ...

Charlotte Moorman Madeline Charlotte Moorman (November 18, 1933 – November 8, 1991) was an American cellist, performance artist, and advocate for avant-garde music. Referred to as the "Jeanne d'Arc of new music", she was the founder of the Annual Avant Garde Fes ...

, Antoni Muntadas,

Yvonne Rainer Yvonne Rainer (born November 24, 1934) is an American dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker, whose work in these disciplines is regarded as challenging and experimental.

, Keiko Prince, Alan Sonfist,

Aldo Tambellini Aldo Tambellini (29 April 1930 – 12 November 2020) was an Italian-American artist. He pioneered electronic intermedia, and was a painter, sculptor, and poet. He died at age 90, in November 2020. Childhood Aldo Tambellini was born in Syracu ...

Joe Davis Joseph Davis (15 April 190110 July 1978) was an English professional snooker and English billiards player. He was the dominant figure in snooker from the 1920s to the 1950s, and has been credited with inventing aspects of the way the game is ...

, Bill Seaman,

Tamiko Thiel Tamiko Thiel (born June 15, 1957) is an American artist, known for her digital art. Her work often explores "the interplay of place, space, the body and cultural identity," and uses augmented reality (AR) as her platform. Thiel is based in Munic ...

Alejandro Sina Alejandro is the Spanish form of the name Alexander. Alejandro has multiple variations in different languages, including Aleksander (Czech, Polish), Alexandre (French), Alexandros (Greek), Alsander (Irish), Alessandro (Italian), Aleksandr (Russ ...

, Don Ritter,

Luc Courchesne Luc Courchesne D.F.A. (1952) is a Canadian artist and academic known for his work in interactive art. Life Luc Courchesne was born May 20, 1952, in Saint-Léonard-d'Aston, Quebec. He received a bachelor's degree in design from the Nova Scotia ...

, and Bill Parker.

References

External links

Archived home page

ACT Home page

CAVS Special Collection
{{Authority control Massachusetts Institute of Technology