Just like a summer blockbuster film, the open-entry exhibition Let’s Pretend We’re Robots, opening tonight at Good Thieves Press, is meant to be a double dip of summer fun. But it’s completely serious, too, notes Good Thieves member Corrina Espinosa. “We genuinely love robots, and we are not the only ones,” she says. “Humanized machines in movies like Robocop and Wall-E have captivated audiences for decades, and they’ve recently crossed the boundary from fantasy into the reality of our daily lives. In our technology-addicted culture, people don’t leave the house without their Android or Siri; these virtual beings have become our closest companions. The machines are alive!”

So Good Thieves put out the call for robots with an open mind. “This show promises to explore technology through costumes; 2-D, 3-D and time-based media; an array of lights, sounds and motion; and traditional framed artwork and sculpture, tied together by concepts that transcend the past, present and future of robotics,” Espinosa promises.

Tonight’s reception at Good Thieves, 2401 Stout Street, is bound to be a blinking, beeping, booping blast; the bounty of robots will light up from 5 to 11 p.m. Let’s Pretend We’re Robots continues through June 8 (there’s another reception from 6 to 10 p.m. on closing day). Visit goodthievespress.com for gallery hours and other information.
Sat., May 25, 5-11 p.m.; May 25-June 8; Sat., June 8, 6-10 p.m., 2013