In my continuing “better late than never” series of exhibitions I wished I had reviewed while open but still feel are worth noting: Sometimes a small exhibition can cast a wide net. Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time, and Technology, an exhibition of work by Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg at the Skirball Cultural Center (which was on view through March 2) is a great example of how a seemingly simple idea can not only be a work of art, but also provide a teaching moment, and be an engine for social action.

Artists Ken Goldberg and Tiffany Shlain harness the beauty and power of trees through tree-ring sculptures — two of which are inscribed with milestones in L.A. history. Visitors can also pay homage to the special trees in their lives by submitting information online, which will be turned into tributes by the artists using AI.

It was Burning Man for the dot-com darlings, the Oscars for the internet, and the last great party for the an era about to disappear forever.

Tree-rings are like time machines. They tell ancient stories about the Earth and its climate, marking wet years, dry years, and periods of growth. Artist Tiffany Shlain and her husband, roboticist Ken Goldberg, decided they would make a perfect canvas for a set of artworks that explore the ways art and science are embedded in nature.

Tiffany Shlain is a multidisciplinary artist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, national bestselling author, and the founder of the Webby Awards. Ken Goldberg is the William S. Floyd Distinguished Chair in Engineering at UC Berkeley and an award-winning roboticist, filmmaker, and artist. They join to discuss the life they share together and their many artistic collaborations.

In “Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time, and Technology,” a new installation by Bay Area creative couple Ken Goldberg and Tiffany Shlain, the artists juxtapose the timeless, organic intelligence of trees alongside products of human ingenuity. On view at Los Angeles’s Skirball Center through March 2, 2025, the exhibition is part of the Getty Museum’s “PST ART: Art and Science Collide” initiative. Stars like Diane Von Furstenberg, Nadya Tolokonnikova, and Kristen Bell made appearances opening night.

LOS ANGELES — Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time, and Technology at the Skirball Cultural Center is a mind-bending installation and learning library by the Bay Area artist duo Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg. Presented in conjunction with the Getty’s PST ART initiative, Art & Science Collide, the exhibition pays homage to the ongoing human quest for knowledge by documenting its evolution through a series of timelines inscribed over the rings of fallen tree fragments, culled from salvage yards, using the age-old technique of pyrography (wood burning). These timelines address the histories of such topics as knowledge itself, California trees, science, and Judaism.

This exhibition is a rare combination of exquisite craftsmanship and dedicated scholarship, using the ancient science of dendrochronology: tree-ring dating that uses the annual growth increments of trees to estimate their age. Featuring six large tree-ring sculptures made from salvaged wood, the works draw parallels between the past, present and future to remind us that trees and humans have always been interdependent in scholarly, scientific, artistic and spiritual practices. Trees also outlive humans and bear witness to human history.

Ken Goldberg (Why Don’t We Have Better Robots Yet?) is an award-winning artist, roboticist, and engineering professor. Ken joins the Armchair Expert to discuss being born in Nigeria, growing up in rough and tumble City of Brotherly Love, and on how that taught him how to not take things lying down. Ken and Dax address the elephant panties in the room, how a course he took in 1981 began his trajectory in robotics and AI, and the tragic archetype of Pygmalion and the hubris of falling in love with your creation. Ken explains the Czechoslovakian etymology of the word “robot,” why don’t we have better robots yet, and how he stays optimistic doing a job predicated on failure.