The New Museum has inaugurated its recently renovated space with 'New Humans: Memories of the Future,' a sprawling exhibition featuring over 700 works across four floors. The show explores the historical and evolving relationship between humanity and labor, tracing the narrative from ancient Mesopotamian myths to the industrial age and the rise of robotics. Key sections like 'Mechanical Ballets' highlight how artists have historically responded to the dehumanization of the workforce through the lens of early 20th-century avant-garde movements.
This exhibition matters because it contextualizes contemporary anxieties regarding artificial intelligence and automation within a long-standing history of 'forced labor' and the mechanization of the human body. By showcasing seminal works such as John Heartfield and George Grosz’s 'Mechanical Tatlin Sculpture' alongside references to Karel Čapek’s invention of the term 'robot,' the show illustrates how art serves as a critical record of the human spirit's struggle against being reduced to a mere tool of commodity production.