About

I like to think of my work as creating and disseminating knowledge.  I’m especially interested in the way artists envision the future and create models of it in the present.  Throughout the history of art, artists have often employed emerging technologies and scientific ideas in this pursuit.  I believe that art, at its best, offers deep insight – a type of knowledge that Gregory Bateson likened to wisdom – that can help build a more compassionate and peaceful future.

I hope you find the contents of this site insightful.

Site History:  My original site was created in 2000 using Netscape Communicator’s web editor.  From 2004-2008, I used the same basic design for artexetra.com.  In 2009, I decided it was high time for a change and chose WordPress to organize my website.  Artexetra is a palindrome inspired by palindromophile and kinetic artist François Morellet.  In my work as an art historian/art futurian, I like to look at things both forwards and backwards…

For more information about me, please see my Bio/CV.

Cheers!  Ed Shanken