MAXforum: Understanding the A.I. Behind Jur A** Itch Park

A.I. has woven itself into what feels like our molecular structure already. We prompt AI for all kinds of answers, for solutions to problems, mental and physical, for comforts we can’t get from friends or family. Are you beginning to feel it is your equal? Do you wonder who is prompting whom? These questions and many more will be addressed at Media Art Xploration’s MAXForum salon (conversation series) with creative technologists: Johannes Büttner & Grayson Earle and their machine. The duo will be premiering a new work with Media Art Xploration (MAXlive) that will feature an A.I. film director, conducting a filming with audience participation of Jur A** Itch Park - a new take on a family favorite infused with the singular humor of AI. There also will be a chance to learn more about their technology and process. Join us at the Center for Performance for some fun at the expense of the machine - who is kidding whom?

This conversation in our MAXforum Salon Series will be moderated by Kay Matschullat, Artistic Director of MAXlive and made possible with support from 1014. There will also be a small reception following the talk.

Johannes Büttner’s work explores speculative and scientifically grounded socio-economic phenomena. He studied at the Berlin University of the Arts and at De Ateliers in Amsterdam. In 2023/24, he was a fellow at the Berlin Program for Artists (bpa//). Recently, he has participated in several prominent exhibitions, including the 16th Istanbul Biennale (2019), Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2018), Kunsthalle Mainz (2020), KW, Berlin (2023), and Kunsthalle Schirn (2024). Johannes has been recognized with numerous grants and awards. In 2022, his film Platform was nominated for the German Short Film Award. His latest film Soldaten des Lichts, a co-production with ZDF’s “Das kleine Fernsehspiel,” is currently in post-production.

Grayson Earle is a contemporary artist and activist from the United States. His work deals with the role that digital technologies and networks play in protest and political agency. He is known for his guerrilla video projections as a member of The Illuminator, a guerrilla video projection collective, and Bail Bloc, a computer program that posts bail for low-income people. His film Why don’t the cops fight each other? (created while in residence with Media Art Exploration’s MAXmachina lab) deals with the source code governing police officers in video games and has been screened at SXSW in Texas, Oberhausen film festival in Germany, ACMI in Australia, and more. His art and research has also been presented at The Whitney Museum, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, and the Singapore Art Museum.

In the heart of New York City, 1014 brings people together from both sides of the Atlantic to creatively engage with today’s global topics. Offering a trans-Atlantic platform across society, culture, and ideas, 1014 seeks to explore the many challenges and opportunities of our time. Fostering partnerships, both personal and institutional, the organization inspires the creativity and imagination we need to collectively share our future and to contribute to today’s global debates.

Media Art Xploration (MAXlive) produces, develops, and deploys groundbreaking live-art experiences at the intersection of artistic expression, scientific inquiry, and technology. MAXlive believes that the intersection of art, science, and technology is a powerful and borderless catalyst for change. Our work is driven by a commitment to spark curiosity, provoke thought, and create transformative experiences that shape our future. We seek to expand the boundaries of what art can achieve and how it can inspire meaningful action in the world.

Grayson Earle

Grayson is a new media artist and educator. He has worked as a professor at Oberlin College, the New School, and the City University of New York. He is the co-creator of Bail Bloc and a member of The Illuminator art collective. His work uses the context of art to materialize ideas and forms surrounding the role that digital technologies and networks can play in protest and political agency. He exhibits inside and outside of traditional art spaces, working with guerrilla video projection, cryptocurrency, machine learning, simulation, sculpture, and the internet. Earle has held fellowships at Akademie Schloss Solitude, ZK/U, Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, and Pioneer Works. He has presented his work and research at The Whitney Museum of Art, MoMA PS1, Radical Networks, the Magnum Foundation, and Open Engagement. Recent exhibitions include the Brooklyn Museum (USA), Centro de Cultura Digital (Mexico), Kate Vass Galerie (Switzerland), and The Red House (Taiwan).

Johannes' work explores speculative and scientifically grounded socio-economic phenomena. He studied at the Berlin University of the Arts and at De Ateliers in Amsterdam. In 2023/24, he was a fellow at the Berlin Program for Artists (bpa//). Recently, he has participated in several prominent exhibitions, including the 16th Istanbul Biennale (2019), Palais de Tokyo in Paris (2018), Kunsthalle Mainz (2020), KW Berlin (2023), and Kunsthalle Schirn (2024). Johannes has been recognized with numerous grants and awards. In 2022, his film “Platform” was nominated for the German Short Film Award. His latest film, “Soldaten des Lichts,” a co-production with ZDF’s “Das kleine Fernsehspiel,” is currently in post-production.

Kay is an award-winning director, producer, and educator dedicated to deconstructing barriers and exploring inventive collaborations. She has directed world premieres of plays by Nobel Prize winner, Derek Walcott, and Pulitzer Prize winner, Ariel Dorfman, and had artistic residencies at Calarts, Dartmouth, Duke, and SCAD. She launched the IntheRaw program at Red Bull Theater and the New Play Program at Williamstown Theater Festival. After successfully launching the first online collaborative tool for script development, Matschullat founded Media Art Xploration (MAXlive) dedicated to increasing artistic exploration with and about the light speed advances in science and technology.

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