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We Have Merely Been Detected

We Have Merely Been Detected
Date Wednesday, June 29, 2022
5 - 7 p.m.
Location Johnson Gallery - View maps and directions
Bethel University
3900 Bethel Dr St Paul MN 55112

Event Description

We Have Merely Been Detected

An experiment in progress by Alison Hiltner - participants are invited to share the internal workings of their brains in real time Wednesday, June 29, from 5-7 p.m. at Bethel University’s Johnson Gallery in the Clauson Center, Level 2. 

Anyone can stop by and take a look. Participation is encouraged; however, the process will take approximately 10 to 15 minutes, so please sign up HERE to contribute your thoughts to the work. Don’t want to commit to a time? There may be opportunities to participate for anyone stopping by the event.

Technology designed in consultation with Théoden I. Netoff, PhD-Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, Roudra Bhattacharya, and Rich Davies.

“We Have Merely Been Detected” is a three-dimensional interpretation of brain activity based on livestreaming EEG data; participants will share the internal workings of their brains in real time. This immersive environment will create connective moments of vulnerability and empathy through the inner mechanisms of our daily thoughts. I am currently working with Dr. Netoff and student Roudra Bhattacharya to push what is possible with the technology available, data, and the sensory experience of the viewer/participant.

This event will be a way for audiences to contribute their thoughts to the machine learning process. We will use these contributions to isolate specific patterns for the installation to illustrate to viewers. The work will still be in the prototyping stage; however, real-time data will be possible during the event so that participants can see the potential of their thoughts. 

Alison Hiltner's visual arts practice explores how science fiction cinema influences our current understanding of scientific research and how that filter of knowledge will affect technological advancement in the future. This examination takes the form of multimedia installation and interactive display. Hiltner has exhibited nationally and internationally in solo and group exhibitions; some of her recent credits include shows at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Telemark Art Center in Skien, Norway, the Weisman Art Museum, and 16 Tech in Indianapolis. She has received numerous Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grants, three MRAC/McKnight Foundation Next Step Grants, the Jerome Foundation Fellowship in 2011/12, an Artists on the Verge Northern Lights/Jerome Foundation fellowship in 2013/14, a 2018/19 McKnight Fellow in visual arts, and an artist in residence at the University of Minnesota’s School of Medicine through an experimental program at the Weisman Art Museum. Most recently, Hiltner received the 2021 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, which has also funded the production of this work.

Alison Hiltner is a fiscal year 2021 recipient of an Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Questions?

Contact Michelle Westmark-Wingard at mwestmar@bethel.edu.