May 13 – May 31, the “DIY: The Magic of Making / Anti-Precision” exhibition, formerly on display at the Center for Advanced Hindsight, will be on view at Liberty Arts.  This exhibition showcases artwork created as collaborations between student artists and science professors at Duke and UNC.

Research shows that when we expend effort in creating something, we place a higher value on the fruits of our labors than similar products that we had no hand in making. Also known as the IKEA effect, this phenomenon explains why we have such an affinity for our own creations but fail to fully appreciate the works of others.

“DIY: The Magic of Making / Anti-Precision” takes an introspective look at the science of producing art, with a twist. Rather than one artist creating one piece of art, two minds worked together to forge a partnership between unlikely pairs: student and professor.

In the UNC branch of this collaborative project, art students in elin o’hara slavick’s “Visualizing Science” class matched themselves with science professors to create a work of art together that was inspired by the professors’ research.

Stop by the Third Friday Opening Reception on May 16th from 6-9 pm at Liberty Arts, 923 Franklin Street, Durham NC 27701 to meet the artists, the professors, the Center for Advanced Hindsight researchers, and other art-science enthusiasts!

The exhibition will be open to the public on May 13 – 31 subject to staff availability.  Please contact the exhibit curator Catherine J Howard at artisticallyirrational@gmail.com in advance to confirm the exhibition’s open hours.

Learn more about the Artistically Irrational exhibition series at http://artisticallyirrational.ssri.duke.edu/.

The Effect
When we order a fancy drink at Starbucks (or some fancier coffee house) with funny language, we believe we are sophisticated connoisseurs. But when others do the exact same thing, we just see them as annoying poseurs.

The Problem
But we don’t just believe we are hot stuff when we order at Starbucks, we also believe that other people will think we are hot stuff. This “self-serving” bias can be dangerous.

Across domains, people believe their dates will be won over by their charm, entrepreneurs believe investors will be won over by their ideas, and “connoisseurs” believe everyone will be won over by their “sophistication.”

It’s one thing to believe you are great, but it’s another thing to project your grand self-perceptions on the others’ perceptions of you. This is when biases can start to multiply and problems can go so awry. While this may not lead to tragic results in a Starbucks line, it can in love, politics, business, and academia.

~By M.R. Trower and Troy Campbell~

~Illustration by M.R. Trower~

Artists from around the world are invited to attend a discussion on self-control entitled “Restraining Order: The Art of Self-Control” as the next part of the “Artistically Irrational” exhibition series on Wednesday, September 26th at 7 PM EST. (Artists who do not live within driving distance of Durham, NC will be able to watch online.)

Interested artists should RSVP to the curator, Catherine Howard, at artisticallyirrational@gmail.com by Monday, September 24th by 9 PM.

After the forum, artists interested in creating artwork in response to the research will submit a 1-page proposal and 2-3 digital images of past work. To be considered, applications must be submitted by Friday, October 5th at 9 PM.

Artists will be notified if they are selected to participate by Monday, October 8th and will receive a $100 stipend to complete their piece. There is no limitation to the style or media of pieces created for “Restraining Order,” but the exhibit includes an exercise in self-control embedded in the artistic process. All selected artists will be required to work on their pieces for the entire period leading up to the due date and will send weekly photos to document the progression of the piece. All completed art works must be received by Friday, December 7th.

Artwork created for “Restraining Order” will be on display at the Center for Advanced Hindsight from December 14th, 2012 to February 22nd, 2013 with a reception on Saturday, January 26th, 2013 from 6-9 pm.

Artists will retain all rights to their piece. Works will be returned to artists after the exhibit by March 15th, 2013. If the piece is purchased, the $100 stipend will be deducted from the purchase price.

Important Deadlines

September 26, 7pm — Forum at the Center for Advanced Hindsight

October 5, 9pm — Deadline to submit artwork proposal

December 7, 9pm — Drop-off deadline

January 26, 6–9pm — Opening reception at the CAH

innovative and engaging artwork.
social and economic inequality.
wealth distribution.
what is so taxing about taxation?

Opening Reception: June 22, 2012 from 6 – 10 PM at the CAH

Featuring drinks, classy appetizers, and the fabulous DJ Mike B

With no limitation to the style or media of pieces created for PoorQuality: Inequality, a portion of the artists, which included sculptors, painters, book artists, video artists, and photographers, branched out stylistically from their normal medium, while others pushed conceptual boundaries.

Some chose to explore how to visualize analytical data. Suzanne Broughel used color to interpret the U.S. racial wealth gap by decorating a white bed sheet “canvas” with coin marks made by dipping quarters and pennies in liquid foundation makeup and pressing them on the fabric. Peter Lisignoli, an MFA student at Duke University, became interested in how one represents the absence of food. He photographed a Quick-n-Go market to rethink how space and time are rendered by such a space. Despite his efforts to tackle the social issue of food inequality, his project changed focus toward the ghettoizing gaze of the surveillance camera.

Other artists explored the capacity for art to spark an emotional response to the research presented by the Center for Advanced Hindsight. Leslie Salzillo’s “The Rise of Soraya M (What Does that Make Her?)” honors all women who have suffered small and great injustices created by the unequal legal and social double standards misinterpreted to dehumanize women.

June 1, 2012 – August 31, 2012

Open to the public Monday – Friday 10 AM – 3 PM

To all those who attended the PoorQuality forum last night, thanks for participating!

For more information about the exhibit, please see our Artistically Irrational website

Call for Artists to respond to research on inequality

Hosted by Dan Ariely and the Center for Advanced Hindsight

Artists from around the world are invited to attend a discussion on social and economic inequality (from the lab that hosted the “Creative Dishonesty” project), on Wednesday, February 22^nd at 7 PM EST.  (Artists who do not live within driving distance of Durham, NC will watch the forum streaming live online.)

Interested artists are to RSVP to the curator, Catherine Howard, at creativedishonesty@gmail.com by Tuesday, February 21st at 9 PM EST

After the forum, artists interested in creating artwork in response to the research will complete an online application, including a 1-page explanation of the artist’s creative process and 2-3 digital images of past work.  To be considered, applications must be submitted by Monday, February 27^th at 9 PM.

Artists will be notified if they are selected to participate by February 29^th and will receive a $100 stipend to complete their piece.  There is no limitation to the style or media of pieces created for “PoorQuality” but all work must be completed by May 5^th. 

Artwork created for “PoorQuality” will be on display at the Center for Advanced Hindsight from June 1^st to August 31^st with a reception on June 22^nd.  An exhibit catalogue, including responses and reflections by the artists and the researchers, will be published.  Each artist will receive a copy.

Artists will retain all rights to their piece. Works will be returned to artists after the exhibit by September 15^th, 2012.  If the piece is purchased, the $100 stipend will be deducted from the purchase price.

Important Deadlines

Feb 22, 7 PM – “PoorQuality: Inequality” forum at the Center for Advanced Hindsight

Feb 27, 9 PM – Deadline to apply for participation

Feb 29, 9 AM – Selected artists will be notified

May 5, 9 PM – Drop-off deadline

Jun 22, 6 PM – 10 PM – Opening reception at the Center for Advanced Hindsight

For more information about the “PoorQuality” project, contact curator Catherine Howard at creativedishonesty@gmail.com.

Learn more about this research at danariely.com

UPDATE: We have a new website fully devoted to our “Artistically Irrational” art series.

Check it out here: http://artisticallyirrational.ssri.duke.edu/

The Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke University is

Pleased to Coordinate and Host the Exhibition

Creative Dishonesty: Cheat Codes

on display at 2024 W Main St, Bay C, Durham, NC from

December 3, 2011 to January 31, 2012.

with an opening reception on

December 16, 2011   6 – 10 PM

As a magnanimous gesture of support for artistic ingenuity and creative perspectives, twenty artists were invited to create innovative and engaging artwork in response to research on behavioral economics, dishonesty, and cheating after attending an interactive forum at the Center for Advanced Hindsight.

With no limitation to the style or media of pieces created for “Creative Dishonesty: Cheat Codes,” a portion of the artists, which included sculptors, painters, and photographers, branched out stylistically from their normal medium, while others pushed conceptual boundaries.

Albert Gilewicz, a sculptor, utilized “Ethos” bottled water as the foundation for a sculpture exploring the truth behind branding and corporate marketing, compelling the viewer to confront the reality of selling their morality for the sum total of $0.05 donated to the development of drinkable water sources in Africa.

Artist Kerry Cox created an interactive installation that questions the nature of imagery as “moral” or “immoral” through audience participation.  In a similar vein, Bruce Mitchell and Adrian Schlesinger created projects inquire how to classify an image as “art” after mechanical tools are used to enlarge, project, draft, and print.

Meet these artists and many others at the opening reception on December 16^th from 6-10 PM!  Pick their brains about the relationship between creativity, honesty, cheating, and the “fudge factor”.   Join us on Third Friday for delicious food, wine, thoughtful artwork, and lively conversation at the Center for Advanced Hindsight, 2024 W Main St, Bay C, Durham, NC.

An exhibit catalogue, including reflections by the artists alongside responses from the curator and the researchers at the Center for Advanced Hindsight, will be published and available for purchase.

For more information about the Creative Dishonesty project, contact curator Catherine Howard atcreativedishonesty@gmail.com.

Artists from around the world are invited to attend a discussion about behavioral economics, dishonesty and cheating at the Center for Advanced Hindsight on October 25 at 7:30 PM EST.  (Artists who do not live within driving distance of Durham, NC can watch the forum streaming live online.)

Interested artists should RSVP to Catherine Howard (irrationalcreativity@gmail.com) by October 24 by 9 PM for driving directions and/or the online streaming link.

After the forum, applications will be circulated to artists interested in creating artwork to depict their reflection on cheating and dishonesty.  Applications will include a brief explanation of the artist’s creative process and 2-3 digital images of past work.

Please submit applications to Catherine Howard at irrationalcreativity@gmail.com by October 28.

Artists will be notified if they are selected to participate by October 29 and will receive a $100 stipend to complete their piece.  There is no limitation to the style or media of pieces created for “Cheat Codes,” but all work must be completed by November 26. 

Artwork created for “Cheat Codes” will be on display the Center for Advanced Hindsight from December 3, 2011 to January 31, 2012.  An exhibit catalogue / book, including responses and reflections by the artists and the researchers at The Center For Advanced Hindsight, will be published. Each artist will receive a copy.

Artists will retain all rights to their piece. Works will be returned to artists after the exhibit by February 15, 2012.  If the piece is purchased, the $100 stipend will be deducted from the purchase price.

Important Deadlines

Oct 25, 7:30 PM: Dishonesty forum at the Center for Advanced Hindsight
Oct 28, 9 PM: Deadline to apply for participation in “Dishonesty”
Oct 29, 9 PM: Selected artists will be notified
Nov 26, 9 PM: Drop-off deadline
Dec 16, 6 – 10 PM: Opening reception at the Center for Advanced Hindsight

For more information about the Creative Dishonesty project, contact curator Catherine Howard at irrationalcreativity@gmail.com.