sarah meyohas opens 'cloud of petals' exhibit, a taxonomy of roses

red bull arts new york presents ‘cloud of petals’, an immersive multi-sensory exhibit by sarah meyohas, exploring the recording of data in relation to a fleeting beauty — the rose. the multi-part installation includes an archival wall of preserved rose petals, a 30-minute film of a performance art piece, and four ominous sculptures. lastly, the exhibit includes a VR component, where artificial intelligence is used to manipulate generative rose visualizations.

installation view, detail, most beautiful petals, archive wall of 3,289 petals
image © lance brewer

the project began in the summer of 2016, when sarah meyohas gathered 16 men to perform an in-situ data collection at eero saarinen’s bell works in holmdel, new jersey (formerly bell labs). the artist filmed the men over the course of several days as they plucked, preserved, and photographed rose petals. the men chose the petals they deemed most beautiful—’a process that embeds the workers’ subjectivity into the data set‘. information from 100,000 unique rose petals forms the foundation of an artificial intelligence algorithm capable of creating new, unique petals forever.

installation view, most beautiful petals, archive wall of 3,289 petals
image © lance brewer

‘this project traces beauty and subjectivity within the systems of automation and artificial intelligence,’ says meyohas. ‘from the trove of images taken by the ‘workers’, an artificial intelligence algorithm is created; allowing for the creation of new, unique petals forever.’

installation view, detail, most beautiful petals, archive wall of 3,289 petals
image © lance brewer

the distinct components of the installation are accompanied by the scent of roses, filtering through the air of the entire exhibition. meyohas wanted the scent to call petals to mind, in an almost intoxicating way. the exhibition also addresses themes of labor, as the tedious work of the men in the film contrasts with the seemingly effortless computer generations of petals. the exhibit ‘cloud of petals’ will be on view at red bull arts new york until december 3, 2017.

installation view, cloud of petals film 30 minutes, 16mm transferred to HD video, color
image © lance brewer