Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art, 1905–2016
Oct 28, 2016–Feb 5, 2017
Lynn Hershman Leeson
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Since the mid-1960s, Lynn Hershman Leeson has been exploring the relationship between identity, gender, and technology in her work, adopting the female cyborg as a figure of transformative power.
Lynn Hershman Leeson (b. 1941), DiNA, 2004–06
Lynn Hershman Leeson (b. 1941), DiNA, 2004–06. Custom software, voice recognition, voice synthesis, sensors, sound, and one-way mirror, 28 × 6 × 16 in. (71.1 × 15.2 × 40.6 cm). Collection of the artist; courtesy Bridget Donahue Gallery, New York © Lynn Hershman Leeson; image courtesy Bridget Donahue Gallery, New York
DiNA is an artificial intelligence bot—a character who converses using voice-recognition technology and becomes increasingly intelligent through interaction. Originally imagined as an extension of Lynn Hershman Leeson’s 2002 film Teknolust, she was a candidate for president of the Internet in 2008. DiNA’s features are based on those of the actress Tilda Swinton, whose character in Teknolust is DiNA’s progenitor or “mother.” She can answer questions about world events by searching the Internet, convey her findings in real time, and remember the data for future use.