Color Rx
Color Rx began as an independent research project sponsored by metaLAB (at) Harvard, based on the Forbes Pigment Collection at the Harvard Art Museums. It was originally exhibited on August 12, 2017 at the Lightbox Gallery of the Harvard Art Museums as part of a week long exhibition called Machine Experiences.
The second iteration, Color Rx: Analog, was shown in January 2018 at the Rainbow Unicorn Gallery in Berlin.
The third iteration, Color Rx: Humanoid, had a three run show at Vessel Gallery in Boston during February 2018.
And since 2022, the collection of Color Rx chips have been hanging proudly at home in my New York City apartment.
Press for Color Rx
2017 - Color Rx listed in Boston Magazine’s Five Reasons to Leave the House This Weekend
“What happens when the STEM fields intersect with art? Harvard Art’s “Machine Experience,” of course. This exhibition showcases the works of artists at metaLAB—a self-described “idea foundry, knowledge-design lab, and production studio”—and features art that incorporates and explores artificial intelligence. Get a color “prescription” from a computer algorithm; see the world the way your cell phone does; and chat with “Sherlock,” a unique chatbot. The gallery changes daily, so check the online schedule to makes sure you don’t miss anything.”
Color Rx (Original)
August 2017 @ Lightbox Gallery in the Harvard Art Museums
"Color is ephemeral and complex. An installation in the Lightbox Gallery at Harvard Art Museums, Color Rx contended with the individuality of perception, while maintaining that the experiences in which perceptions are grounded can be traced back to, and tethered together by, a common, colorful trend. Drawing inspiration from from Harvard Art Museums’ Forbes Pigment Collection, scholarly texts, and the artist’s knowledge and intuition, the piece explored lines between truth and belief, color and illusion. And yet its prescriptions, unconventional and mysterious though they may be, made connections and produced impacts in the world, for gallery visitors and others.
Color Rx used a computer algorithm to diagnose a viewer’s inputs and “prescribe a color” in response. The piece was grounded in questions about trust in, or benefit from, “smart” systems, often in contexts where the algorithms are opaque—even when the output is very concrete. What does it mean for machines or systems to drive our behavior? Can we adequately assess the benefits and risks?"
Event Listing on Harvard Art Museums website
Read More from Mod & Bean
Video recap of August 12th, 2018 Color Rx installation at the Harvard Art Museums as part of the "Machine Experiences" exhibition. Produced by Bardi Moradi.
Gallery talk for opening day at Harvard Art Museums.