SMoCA M!X: Tech Sublime
For four years SMoCA M!X has transformed Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in extraordinary ways. This year, more than 250 guests, dressed in their most cyber chic attire, attended the May 6 SMoCA M!X: Tech Sublime party at the museum.
Guests were invited to discover, interact with and marvel at artists using innovative technology and media while enjoying delectable hors d’oeuvres by Creations in Cuisine. The entire museum was transformed into an exhilarating, immersive experience showcasing how artists are harnessing the power and creative possibilities of technology.
Grisha Coleman, associate professor at Arizona State University School of Arts, Media and Engineering and instructor with Arizona State University AME Faculty, curated the performances. Highlights of this year’s event included United Kingdom-based Squidsoup’s virtual environment Submergence, which took viewers into a space that changes in real time according to their movements and positions, using 12,000 suspended lights; Los Angeles-based new media performance artist Tiffany Trenda, who used a 3-D printed suit to sync their heartbeats to hers; and Nam June Paik’s 1992 work Electro-Symbio Phonics, a landmark video and neon sculpture commissioned by the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture. Synthesis Center, David Tinapple and Charis Elliot from the Arizona State University School of Arts, Media and Engineering also created a number of interactive pieces for the evening.
The event honored Dorothy Lincoln-Smith, who has been a recognized leader in the arts for more than 40 years. She served as president of the National Society of Arts and Letters, and is an emeritus member of the SMoCA Advisory Board. Tyler Butler, founder and principal of 11Eleven Consulting, was the 2017 event ambassardor.
SMoCA M!X 2017 netted $32,000 to benefit SMoCA exhibitions and programs.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF STEVEN FELLHEIMER AND CHRIS LOOMIS
Judd and Billie Jo Herberger; Rachel and Pete Miller. PHOTOS BY STEVEN FELLHEIMER
Patricia Henao, Anita Lang, Izhak Ben Shabat and Elena Sorbo. PHOTO BY STEVEN FELLHEIMER
Susan Tasker and Jen Rogers; John and Allison Corritore. PHOTOS BY STEVEN FELLHEIMER
Gary Jackson and Oscar De la Salas; Christian Serena, Thurston Adams and Ryan Smith. PHOTOS BY STEVEN FELLHEIMER
Dorothy Lincoln-Smith. PHOTO BY CHRIS LOOMIS
Farrah and Barry Graham; Karie and Nick Taratsas, and Elyse Johnson. PHOTOS BY STEVEN FELLHEIMER
Sara Cochran and Tyler Butler. PHOTO BY CHRIS LOOMIS
Drone performance. PHOTO BY STEVEN FELLHEIMER. PHOTO BY STEVEN FELLHEIMER
Camila Englert, Nicoletta Kennedy, Angela Graham, Julianna Urtubey and Jennifer McCabe. PHOTO BY STEVEN FELLHEIMER
