Kal Spelletich: Significance Machines and Purposeful Robots

A new exhibition at the Saint Mary’s College Museum of Art explores boundaries between humans and machines, integrating spirituality and mysticism through an unlikely form –robots."Kal Spelletich: Significance Machines and Purposeful Robots," on view from July 25 through December 8, 2019, presents thirteen interactive sculptures and three dialogical photographs by the San Francisco artist, Kal Spelletich (b. 1960). A leader in the machine art scene, Spelletich has lived and worked in South San Francisco for 30 years. His art merges obsolete materials into constructed machines that interact with humans in unexpected ways. "Significance Machines and Purposeful Robots" sensors enable the sculptures to react to participants with individual responses. The robotic sculptures cannot store the memory of these spontaneous movements. This is intentional, as Spelletich believes, “they are optimistic alternatives that subvert technology’s intended functional use and break the barrier of exclusive access that promotes passive consumption."
This exhibition is organized by April Bojorquez, curator at Saint Mary’s College Museum of Art and is presented in partnership with the Catharine Clark Gallery. The reception will be held on Thursday, September 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet the artist. An artist panel and discussion will be held on Thursday, October 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Soda Center on Saint Mary’s College of California campus.