marco brambilla’s vision of a future world fair takes over the screens in times square

Approximations of Utopia is live on 95+ screens in Times Square

Artist Marco Brambilla returns with a new mega project, Approximations of Utopia, presenting a vision of a future world fair reimagined from archival imagery using AI technology. Divided into different iterations, each architectural-algorithmic resurrection represents the spirit of a nation and society and the aspirational dreams and desires from that moment in time. The first chapter was launched on June 1st across 95+ screens in Times Square, as part of the Midnight Moment program. The event coincides with the Queens Museum celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, where the main attraction, the Unisphere, designed by Gilmore D. Clarke and donated by U.S. Steel, was the world’s largest sphere.

marco brambilla dedicates part one to six historic world’s expo

For Approximations of Utopia Part 1, Marco Brambilla (see more here) focuses on six historic World’s Exposition embdying the spirit of ‘Better living through technology’ as a utopian vision: New York (1964), Brussels, (1958), Montreal (1967), Osaka (1970), Seville (1992), and Shanghai (2010). Over 20 nations have played host to numerous utopian social experiments in the form of world fairs, and the journey through these dynamic collages of the past leads the viewer to a yet unrealized Expo in the works, unbound from geography or time. Like any utopia, this idealized speculation is an imagined community and society of a future filled with the possibility of a meaningful, peaceful life and civilization. 

The continuous and rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence is reflected in the creative process and outcome of this work, which Brambilla has initially developed using the first-generation AI-generated image program Dall-E 1. The project has evolved with the support of various programs over the last year and a half, namely Runway, Midjourney 4 and 5, Stable Diffusion, and, finally, up to its current version, created using the latest technology of Magnific AI. Times Square Arts presents Approximations of Utopia Part 1 in partnership with Queens Museum and Artnet. The screening is on view as part of the Midnight Moment program until June 30th, 2024. 

project info:

name: Approximations of Utopia Part 1 

location: Times Square, NYC | @timessquarenyc

artist: Marco Brambilla | @marcobrambillastudio

program: Midnight Moment

presented by: Times Square Arts | @tsqarts

in partnership with: Queens Museum and Artnet 

guest curated by: Nato Thompson with Dreaming in Public