Galactic Scale Inquiries into
the Nature of the Cosmos

Robotics, Lasers, and Sensor-Based Systems

Kal Spelletich

November 4th, 2022 -  January 28th, 2023

Opening Reception:
Friday, November 4th, 6:00 - 9:00pm

Artist Talk: Saturday, December 10th, 2022, 3:00pm
In-conversation with Karen Marcelo, SRL artist and founding curator of Dorkbot San Francisco

Closing Reception: Saturday, January 28th, 2023, 3:00PM
Featuring a sound performance by the artist in collaboration w/ instrument-inventor Bryan Day

Gallery hours: Saturdays, 1:00 - 6:00pm
Or almost anytime, by appointment (just call ahead!): 415.336.2349
323 10th St. at Folsom (SoMA), SF, CA
info@tttelematiccc.com | @tttelematiccc

Telematic Media Arts is pleased to present Galactic Scale Inquiries into the Nature of the Cosmos, an exhibition of robotics, lasers, and sensor-based systems by San Francisco artist Kal Spelletich. In this body of work, Spelletich responds as an artist to science’s extraordinary, transformative contributions to visual culture and knowledge. Reconstructing scientific tools and experiments with light, stones, sound, metal, video, and machines, his kinetic sculptures and installations explore the sublime dimensions and durations of astronomy, geology, and physics. He highlights their explosion of experience’s everyday parameters, evoking wonder in the face of nature and raising the question of our place in the universe. At a time when the authority of science has been crudely dismissed, and critical thinking has given way to groundless conspiracy theories, Spelletich explores fundamental scientific discoveries and the weight of their hold on the world.

The project is rooted in the history of science, drawing inspiration from the ancient figures of Pythagoras and Gan De; the early modern Leonardo, Newton, and Galileo; and the underappreciated heroes of 20th-Century astronomy and astrophysics, Jocelyn Burnell and Vera Rubin, among others. At the same time, Spelletich’s work emphasizes the fact – revealed by the recent rise of misinformation — that the authority of science is not sustained by science itself, but rather depends upon a collective, social commitment to the pursuit of knowledge and the truth. His kinetic sculptures and installations are interactive. They respond to the physical presence of bodies in space, and they require the audience to engage them. In this way, the show is political, sparking minds and activating audiences by engaging them in a reflective practice that bridges art, science, and social consciousness – even philosophy – in the pursuit of a shared understanding.

Galactic Scale Inquiries into the Nature of the Cosmos was on view from November 4th to January 28th and was free and open to the general public.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

During his 30-year-career in the Bay Area, Kal Spelletich has been a pivotal figure in the machine art and robotics community. He frequently collaborates with scientists, engineers, musicians and audiences to realize projects. His machines address the poetic nature of technology, scientific discovery and metaphorically illustrate how, just as movement, light and sound waves can be sent into the world, so also can ideas and emotions radiate out, with the potential for activating positive change. 

Spelletich builds interactive sculptures from the same elements of technology, hardware and software, used in everyday consumer, industrial, and military devices. However, he subverts the original intended use and breaks the barrier of exclusive access. Viewed from our contemporary vantage point that is immersed in functional technologies, his sculptures seem nonsensical. They are poetic and not meant for a proscribed use or to achieve commercial, monetized goals.

Spelletich raises open ended questions about the dominant economic producers of technology, the interplay of technology and spirituality, the role of the collective in capitalism, and economic and educational privilege. His work is generated from the belief that ultimately humanity prevails over technology.

Spelletich has exhibited at the deYoung Museum, SFMOMA, and the Exploratorium in San Francisco; Deitch Projects and the Knitting Factory in New York; and in venues in Germany, Croatia, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Holland, France, Spain, India and Africa. He has been the subject of press in the New York Times and on PBS, holds an undergraduate art degree from the University of Iowa and an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin, and is represented by Catharine Clark Gallery.

Download the Full List of Works in the Show with Kal’s notes: HERE!

Selected Kinetic Works

In-Conversation and Sound Performance