The Music Center’s Black Bar Social: The One Who Looks at the Cup
Provocateur: Mashinka Firunts Hakopian
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
RSVPs are now closed.
Dive into the world of divination at One Who Looks at the Cup. The practice of divination, which foretells the future by deciphering visual patterns in coffee grounds, will be brought to life through the lens of technology and community. “Bazhak Nayogh,” which is Armenian for “coffee reader” or “one who looks at the cup” will embark on a groundbreaking journey to train an AI model in the ancestral art of Armenian coffee cup reading.
The AI will be trained using coffee cup readings conducted with Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) members of the artist's communities, along with oral history interviews on the topic of liberatory futures. With training datasets in both Armenian and English, the AI’s outputs will be bilingual, honoring the linguistic richness of LA’s diasporic communities.
Experience the convergence of ancestral knowledge and emerging technologies as we chart a path towards the possibility of collectively authored futures.
About the Provocateur
Mashinka Firunts Hakopian
Mashinka Firunts Hakopian is an Armenian writer, artist and researcher born in Yerevan and residing in Glendale, CA. She’s an associate professor in Technology and Social Justice at ArtCenter College of Design and a 2024 Eyebeam Democracy Machine Fellow. Her book, The Institute for Other Intelligences, was published through X Artists’ Books in 2022. With Meldia Yesayan, she co-curated the exhibitions, “What Models Make Worlds: Critical Imaginaries of AI” at the Ford Foundation Gallery (2023) and “Encoding Futures: Critical Imaginaries of AI” at OXY ARTS (2021). Hakopian is a contributing editor for ART PAPERS, where she was a guest co-editor with Sarah Higgins for the spring 2023 special issue on AI. Her performances and projects have been presented at Centre Pompidou (Paris), the New Museum and Rhizome (New York City), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles), the Institute of Contemporary Art (Philadelphia) and elsewhere.
Event Credits
Installations: Mashinka Firunts Hakopian with Dahlia Elsayed and Andrew Demirjian
Creative Technologists: Danny Snelson, Hua Chai, and DOTDOT Studio
Film: Mashinka Firunts Hakopian with Atlas Acopian (director) and Lara Sarkissian (score and sound designer)
DJ Sets: Lara Sarkissian
Translation: Margo Gevorgyan and Hayk Makhmuryan
Reading Library: Abril Books
Zines: Entangled Roots Press
Armenian Coffee: Kavat Coffee
Project Dataset Contributors:
Atlas Acopian, Erik Adamian, Gilda Davidian, Kareem Estefan, Aroussiak Gabrielian, Margo Gevorgyan, Ani Kalafian, Natalie Kamajian, Hayk Makhmuryan, Carene Rose Mekertichyan, Ara Oshagan, Nadia Sarkissian, Yasaman Sheri, Lia Soorenian, Marina Terteryan, Meldia Yesayan, Ryat Yezbick
With Text From:
Shushanik Kurghinian, I Want to Live, translated by Shushan Avagyan, edited by Susan Barba and Victoria Rowe
Film Credits:
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Artist: Mashinka Firunts Hakopian |
First Assistant Camera: Amir Rose-Aminifu |
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Director: Atlas Acopian |
Key Grip: Silver Hernandez |
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Score and Sound Design: Lara Sarkissian |
Swing/Driver: Noah Lopez |
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Writers: Mashinka Firunts Hakopian, Jeremiah Warren, Atlas Acopian |
Mix and Master: Armand Kambourian |
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Producers: Atlas Acopian, Mashinka Firunts Hakopian |
Editor: Atlas Acopian |
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Director of Photography: Cleon Arrey |
Colorist: Jared Rosenthal |
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Art Director: Em Monforte |
Production Assistant: Em Monforte |
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Translation: Margo Gevorgyan, Hayk Makhmuryan |
Cast: Erik Adamian, Mashinka Firunts Hakopian, Natalia Sookias, Atlas Acopian, Beck Yeghiazaryan, Eden Sarkisian, Carene Rose Mekertichyan, Lia Soorenian
Join us for the next Black Bar Social!
Artificial Intelligence & The Rasquache Realm
Tuesday, October 8, 2024 | 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Explore the fascinating intersection of AI and Rasquachismo, a Chicano cultural concept of ingenuity and resourcefulness. Join us for an evening of new films, holograms, and never-before-seen prints, all designed to spark conversation about the promises and challenges of AI. With live soundscapes by DJ Ganas, The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion will transform into a sci-fi cumbia cantina, fostering thought-provoking discussions. Curated by visionary filmmaker Alex Rivera, this event invites you to discover how technology is reshaping our world.
TMC Arts
When we speak of our vision to deepen the cultural lives of all Angelenos, we turn to the work of TMC Arts. This team champions the diverse voices and communities of Los Angeles, fostering connection, creativity and enrichment. TMC Arts programs connect people, offering us the chance to get creative and to learn as we discover something new or enjoy something familiar. Many programs are free and low-cost; they take place outdoors on Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center and in Grand Park, inside The Music Center's theatres and in schools and neighborhoods all across L.A. County.