"Cybernetic Serendipity: The Computer and the Arts" stands as a pivotal moment in the intersection of technology and creativity. A prescient, groundbreaking collection of art + technology, it captures an extraordinary moment when artists, musicians, poets, and engineers were first exploring the creative potential of computers and cybernetic systems. The exhibition and catalog remind us of the remarkable and oftentimes untapped ability of technology to extend human inventiveness and creativity, probing the boundaries of possibility.
A cursory review of the catalog reveals a spirit of prototyping and experimentation. Many of the projects in here (from the late 1960s!) are the kinds of things that we might see today in the context of Design Fiction, speculative design, and the kinds of art+technology practices that are now becoming more common. The catalog is a historical document, a contemporary manifesto, and a guide for the creative potential of human-machine collaboration. It is a reminder that the most interesting possibilities often lie not in...