Sensing the Future: Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.)

Sensing the Future: Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.) is the first exhibition in France to focus on this landmark mid-twentieth century initiative, which brought together hundreds of key avant-garde artists and the engineers who ushered in the information age. 

E.A.T. was founded in 1966 in the U.S.A. by Billy Klüver and Fred Waldhauer, engineers at Bell Telephone Laboratories—then the world’s leading center for electronic innovation and telecommunications research—together with artists Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Whitman. Integrating theater, visual arts, multisensory environments, and groundbreaking technology, E.A.T’s pioneering cross-disciplinary efforts extended beyond the art world into social issues such as education and environmental sustainability. Echoing LUMA’s long-term research interest in the artist-led use of technologies, Sensing the Futureprovides unique insights into a foundational initiative whose influence on generations of artists continues to be central today.

Organized in partnership with the Getty Research Institute, the exhibition revolves around key elements of E.A.T.’s fabled history. Starting with an exploration of its beginnings, Sensing the Future also presents artworks and documentation from “9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering” (1966), the Pepsi Pavilion at Expo ’70 in Osaka, Japan (1970), and “Projects Outside Art” (1970). At LUMA Arles, the exhibition features additional, rarely shown artworks as well as previously unpublished documentation, furthering the understanding of E.A.T’s pivotal role in contemporary art history.

With artworks by Robert Breer, John Cage, Lucinda Childs, Ivan Dryer, Jean Dupuy, Öyvind Fahlström, Hans Haacke, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Marta Minujín, Peter Moore, Forrest Myers, Fujiko Nakaya, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer, Robert Rauschenberg, Lillian Schwartz, Harry Shunk & János Kender, Wen-Ying Tsai, David Tudor, Andy Warhol, Robert Whitman, and others.

As a part of the J. Paul Getty Trust based in the city of Los Angeles, the Getty Research Institute (GRI) is an international center for the study of visual culture and is home to one of the world's largest art libraries. Getty is a leading global arts organization committed to exhibiting, conserving, and understanding the world’s artistic and cultural heritage. Sensing the Future was among more than 60 exhibitions and programs presented across Southern California as part of the 2024 edition of PST ART, entitledArt & Science Collide, and presented by Getty. PST ART: Art & Science Collide followed Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA (September 2017–January 2018) and Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945–1980 (October 2011– March 2012).