Emerson Contemporary

Future Ancestral Technologies: nágshibi
2019-10-17 08:00 - 2019-12-15 17:00 (America/New_York)
Cannupa Hanska Luger’s Future Ancestral Technologies: nágshibi is a multi-media Indigenous-centered science fiction exhibition using creative storytelling to radically reimagine the future and promote a thriving Indigeneity. Nágshibi is the Hidatsa word for ‘to be past, to be after’ or ‘to exceed, to go beyond.’ The exhibition, an approach to creating art objects, videos, and performance with the intent to influence global consciousness, included a 21-foot tall canvas tipi, a two channel video installation, performative video works, photography, and ceremonial regalia created by the artist.

Regarding Future Ancestral Technologies, Nagshibi, Cannupa Luger states: “In this ongoing series, I prototype designs for objects and their use. I test rituals and conduct ceremonies. This project operates with the assumption that these ‘artworks’ will become customary in the future. I create a space of futuristic vision in which societies are nomadic, tipis are solar-powered, and humans create their own functional regalia to live through ceremony in acknowledgement of land.”
About the exhibition
Future Ancestral Technologies debuted in 2018 in the form of an immersive exhibition at the University of South Dakota. A series of land-acknowledgment performative actions have since followed and manifest as video works, several of which will be on view in the Emerson Contemporary Media Art Gallery. The project continues through the prototyping of dwellings, clothing, tools, and videos that illustrate a world in which artificial intelligence and virtual reality support ritual and ceremony. Though currently viewed via exhibitions and in other art world contexts, this project operates under the assumption that these artworks will become useful in the future.
Exhibition Reviews
Boston Globe
Boston Art Review

Cannupa Hanska Luger: Indigenous Science Fiction, The Imagination and Long-Term Thinking
2019-10-16 18:00 - 19:30
A reception was held Wednesday, October 16, in the Jackie Liebergott Black Box Theater at Emerson’s Paramount Center, 559 Washington Street, followed by the talk Indigenous Science Fiction, The Imagination and Long-Term Thinking, where artist Cannupa Hanska Luger was in conversation with author and historian of science Dr. Jimena Canales. The conversation was presented by Emerson’s Media Art Gallery and Long Now Boston, an organization that fosters long term thinking. It was moderated by Dr. Leonie Bradbury, Henry and Lois Foster Chair of Contemporary Art Theory and Practice and Distinguished Curator-in-Residence at Emerson College.

GlitchKraft Artist Talk: Allison Tanenhaus, Ben Foley, and Lauren Klotzman
2019-10-03 12:30 - 15:30
Artist Talk Featuring exhibiting artists Allison Tanenhaus, Ben Foley, and Lauren Klotzman
Video Art Performance MEMORY RECOVERY : : AFTERDARK REVISITED by Lauren Klotzman.

GlitchKraft Artist Talk: Alex Kittle
2019-09-20 12:00 - 13:30
Artist Talk featuring illustrator, art historian, and film curator Alex Kittle
Since 2018, Kittle has been devoted to women filmmakers, creating portraits and zine biographies as a way to share their stories and works in an accessible way. She also co-hosts a monthly screening series and discussion group called Strictly Brohibited, which highlights women-made films in a welcoming community for women and non-binary film fans. Visit @panandscan and @strictlybrohibited for more information.

GlitchKraft Glitch Workshop
2019-09-14 12:00 - 15:00
Glitch Workshop with Allison Tanenhaus
One-on-one guidance on iPads (and BYO devices), with preloaded images and apps.
