About the Exhibition
Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema examines the global impact and lasting influence of the science fiction subgenre cyberpunk on cinema culture. Featuring an immersive media installation and an exclusive selection of key production materials and props, the exhibition highlights cyberpunk’s 20th-century origins and the new, global directions it has taken in the 21st century. Set in near future worlds that resemble our own, cyberpunk films juxtapose technological advances with social upheaval, ecological crisis, and urban decay. Central to these stories are outcasts and rebellious characters who fight against corrupt political systems, technology gone haywire, global mega-corporations, and colonialism.
At the exhibition’s core is an immersive multiscreen media installation that showcases cyberpunk worlds, sights, and sounds. With a voice-over scripted by writer-director Alex Rivera, the newly produced montage explores themes and visual motifs of cyberpunk and futurist cinema. It spotlights canonical cyberpunk films like The Matrix (USA, 1999), early influences such as Blade Runner (USA, 1982), and foundational animated features like Ghost in the Shell (Japan, 1995), as well as cyberpunk’s expansion into Afrofuturism (Neptune Frost, Rwanda/USA, 2021), Latinxfuturism (Alita: Battle Angel, USA, 2019), and Indigenous Futurism (Night Raiders, Canada/New Zealand, 2021).
The exhibition also features 18 reproductions of iconic cyberpunk movie posters, an original costume from Tron (USA, 1982), 13 props, the original Vid-Phon booth from Blade Runner, and concept art from such celebrated cyberpunk films as Blade Runner, Tron, and Night Raiders.
The accompanying catalogue offers new perspectives on cyberpunk cinema and its legacies, and a mixed-reality experience, created in partnership with Magnopus, explores the creation of a dystopian cyberpunk landscape.
Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema is curated by Doris Berger, vice president of curatorial affairs, with Nicholas Barlow and Emily Rauber Rodriguez, assistant curators.
Advisory Group: Danis Goulet, George Hull, Wanuri Kahiu, David Kirby, Carlen Lavigne, Akira Mizuta Lippit, Patrick Sharp
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Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema is among more than 70 exhibitions and programs presented as part of PST ART. Returning in September 2024 with its latest edition, PST ART: Art & Science Collide, this landmark regional event explores the intersections of art and science, both past and present. PST ART is presented by Getty. For more information about PST ART: Art & Science Collide, please visit pst.art. Generous support also provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture. Additional support provided by Emma Koss. The Cyberpunk Mixed Reality Experience is made possible thanks to Magnopus as well as Epic Games, Metastage, and Alcon Interactive Group. Academy Museum Digital Engagement Platform sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Technology solutions generously provided by Christie®.
Cyberpunk is located on Level 2 in the Gale Anne Hurd Gallery.