Get lost and find yourself again in this artist’s maze on Miami Beach during Art Week
Long before Chat-GPT was the rage, Chilean artist Sebastian Errazuriz became hyper-attuned to the changes artificial intelligence would likely bring to modern life. One result is the football-field size maze on the beach this week in front of the Faena hotel in Miami Beach.
“MAZE: Journey Through the Algorithmic Self,” designed with the help of AI, has been two years in the making, said Errazuriz. At one point the maze was meant to dug partially into the sand, but that brought the danger of ecological impact. A later iteration called for a QR code visible from the sky, but getting it to act as a weblink proved challenging. The final maze version was crafted from 11 miles of sand-crusted barriers that, like Mayan walls, are thicker at the base than at the top.
Through all the iterations, the purpose has remained the same: To create a space for badly needed human connection in a time of technological dominance.
“For the past 10 years I’ve been obsessed with AI and its impact on society,’’ said Errazuriz. “There are thousands of experts in AI but none on what it’s going to do to us. We’re going to have to come together [in real life] and figure that out.”
Next week, he will release a book on Amazon, “The AI Maze,” posing questions raised by the technology.
The IRL maze in Miami Beach is designed to facilitate human interaction. Entry points at four sides all lead to a central square where visitors are invited to meditate, talk to one another and “disconnect from the craziness” that Errazuriz says is moving at ever-faster speeds that exceed comprehension. “The maze is designed not to get lost, but to find ourselves.’’
Errazuriz’s related concerns about technology’s influence is portrayed in the Faena lobby, known as The Cathedral, in “Battle of the Corporate Nations.” The resin-and-poured marble sculpture humorously depicts Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos in an epic mythological battle.
“Their companies have reserves as large as many nations. They will be more powerful than countries,” Errazuriz said.
Both works are part of Faena Art’s presentation “Spaces of Influence: Shaping Community in the Modern World.” Also in The Cathedral is a rotating digital work by Beeple. It employs blockchain technology, digital video and a three-dimensional form in a sci-fi projection of climate change, depicting a future building complex slowly being consumed by the sea. It is co-presented by the Reefline, an underwater fine-art reef scheduled to open in May.
Also part of the show: An interactive dive bar -- think Mac’s Club Deuce meets Alabama Jacks -- across Collins Avenue from the hotel. The installation by Miami’s Kelly Breez -- complete with mannequins and dollar bills hanging from the rafters -- is an homage to a lifestyle that is slipping away. “I just love this kind of thing, and the history. It’s disappearing.”
Faena, 3201 Collins Ave., Miami Beach
