Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 18
Cao Fei Fills 4 Floors at Kunstmuseum Basel With 10 Installations on A.I.-Age Humanity
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 18

Cao Fei Fills 4 Floors at Kunstmuseum Basel With 10 Installations on A.I.-Age Humanity

2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 18

Summary

  • Kunstmuseum Basel’s Gegenwart branch has given all four floors to Cao Fei through Oct. 11 for a nearly 30-year survey built around 10 immersive installations and environments.
  • The 48-year-old Chinese artist uses film, video, virtual reality and installation to examine how globalization, the internet and A.I.-era technology reshape human life in China and beyond.
  • Basel brings together key works including “Whose Utopia?” from 2006, set in a lightbulb factory, and “RMB City,” her 2007-2011 virtual metropolis on Second Life.
  • A new avatar called Oz extends that long-running interest in digital identity, while a separate Prada Foundation project in Milan, “Dash,” looks at technology’s effects on farming in China and Southeast Asia.

Insights

As AI optimizes farms, what does Cao Fei’s art reveal that billion-dollar market forecasts miss about our food's future?
Does turning a museum into a tech-filled playground help us confront technology's dangers or simply offer an escape?
Can virtual avatars and digital cities from the 2000s truly guide us on preserving humanity in today's AI era?