Machine Room of the Gods

How Our Future Was Invented
8 March to 10 September 2023

Press texts

Press release

Machine Room of the Gods
How Our Future Was Invented

8 March to 10 September 2023

In 2023, the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung is devoting an exhibition to one of the most exciting connections in the history of mankind – the connection between art and technology. It is a global narrative full of cryptic fables, myths, and visions, fictive and real innovations, and outstanding masterworks. The exhibition “Machine Room of the Gods. How Our Future Was Invented” will shed light on the history of the sciences in antiquity and the Arabic and Asiatic cultures and their influence on the development of art. Technology and art were closely intertwined in antiquity. The Greek term techne stands for all “arts” – of engineering, of construction, et cetera. Primarily, it concerns the knowledge and study of the human mind. Scientific research was pursued with the aim of advancing the human civilization and culture. Whether the pyramids of the ancient Egyptian mastermind Imhotep, the mechanical automata and animated sculptures described by the Greek author Heron, or experiments with the first camera obscura by the Arab mathematician Alhazen – they all exemplify how scientific and artistic work collaborate.

The Frankfurt exhibition will feature 97 prominent objects from international museum collections such as the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Musei Capitolini in Rome, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, as well as from the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung’s own holdings, including the Statuette of Imhotep (Egypt, 332–30 BC), the Statue of Athena (Roman, AD 1st c.), the Statue of Atlas (so-called Atlas Farnese) (Roman, AD 2nd c., with modern additions), the Head of a Buddha (Cambodia, Angkor Wat, end of 12th–beg. of 13th c.), a Universal Astrolabe (by Aḥmad ibn as-Sarrāǧ, Syria, 1328–1329), the Maria Immaculata (by Matthias Steinl, Vienna, 1688), and the Apollo Kithara (by Jeff Koons, 2019–2022). The multimedia exhibition architecture will transform the entire Liebieghaus into a museum in which art and science of more than five millennia come to life.

Curator: Prof. Dr. Vinzenz Brinkmann (Head of the Department of Antiquities and Asia, Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung)
Project management: Jakob Salzmann, assistant curator (Department of Antiquities and Asia, Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung)
Sponsored by: Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, Gemeinnützige Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain GmbH, Freunde der Tat des Städelschen Museums-Vereins e. V.
With additional support from: Stiftung Polytechnische Gesellschaft Frankfurt am Main
Media partner: Frankfurter Rundschau
Cultural partner: hr2-kultur

Download the complete press release here.

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Wall texts

Machine Room of the Gods
How Our Future Was Invented

8 March to 10 September 2023

Technology surrounds and benefits us everywhere we go. Yet however new it may seem to mankind, we have not only the past two centuries to thank for this circumstance. Scientific research was already being carried out thousands of years ago, usually with the aim of achieving ambitious art projects. The findings did not remain bound to their cultures of origin but travelled from one to the next, leading to outstanding accomplishments in ever new places. Scientific thought began with a look to the heavens. The movements of the planets and stars provided the model for the development of artificial mechanics. Technology was moreover an integral part of ancient mythological narratives and was passed along in the works of ancient artists. With the aid of modern media, but also loans of prominent artworks, the exhibition “Machine Room of the Gods” now displays these spectacular findings throughout the rooms of the Liebieghaus. As set forth by the exhibition concept, its aim is to shed light on various cultures as well as different areas of science and their significance for art.

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