Technology influences many aspects of life. It also plays a part in the creation of art. For the artist duo MyFi Studio, one without the other does not exist. The pair will debut their latest tech-inspired performance piece at Frost Science Museum’s adult-only night, nightLAB, on Thursday, July 17.
“We build instruments and computer systems for creating digital art and music in real time,” says Aimee Rubensteen, one half of MyFi Studio. “Our performance at the Frost will be showcasing how we create video art, how we create electronic music instruments, and how we use them live.”
MyFi Studio was founded in 2021 by real life partners Rubensteen and Josh Eisenberg. The pair first met in 2017 and were married in 2022. Much of their relationship was built on their shared love of music and the arts — and technology.
“A big part of our relationship has always been talking about art and talking about technology… so we started MyFi to make the art we’ve always wanted to make,” says Eisenberg.
The duo specializes in digital art and creating their own electronic instruments. Eisenberg has a background in coding and a Ph.D. in computer engineering from Florida International University, so he applies his skills to create magic with Rubensteen.
Their instruments are often interactive in nature and inviting for the public to participate. In 2024, The Bass Museum of Art commissioned a piece by the duo titled “in real time” that featured a collection of 454 electronic instruments. The piece is available online for the community to interact with and play.
The excitement behind the instruments they create comes from seeing a computer more like a toy than a machine. Eisenberg compares the digital instruments he builds to more tangible pieces like guitars or trumpets. “With a cello, you touch it and the way it sounds depends on how you touch it. And (the) same with these instruments. The way they sound depends on how you actually play them and touch them, not just how you click a button in a program.”
MyFi Studio’s latest performance piece for nightLAB, “Look Over Here,” was heavily inspired by the night’s theme: “Beyond the Algorithm.” It is both a nod to the current Artificial Intelligence (AI) exhibit at the museum as well as an homage to the planetarium itself where the performance will take place.
“The piece is definitely a reference to being in the planetarium, but it’s also a reference to how people learn and how computers learn. They learn by example,” says Eisenberg.
The idea behind the performance is almost as if the planetarium and MyFi Studio’s computer are having a conversation and the audience is witnessing the dialogue. There will be four performances throughout the night (7:45 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 9:15 p.m., and 10 p.m.), each unique in what theme the artists will be exploring.
“Our live performances are also improvisational,” says Rubensteen. “So while there are pieces that are rehearsed or scripted, it’s also an improvisational performance, so they’ll all be different, which will be a lot of fun.”
The performance will feature custom code created by the artists, which will allow them to “write and draw and paint around the dome like an electronic paint brush,” explains Rubensteen.
“Look Over Here” by MyFi Studio is part of a packed program for the Frost’s nightLAB event. In addition to the four 25-minute performances, the evening will feature events such as a talk from an AI expert, an interactive experience led by FilmGate Miami, a demonstration by Florida International University’s Robotics Lab, and various showcases led by Miami Dade College.
“NightLAB is a really unique event,” says Analisa Duran, Ph.D., Frost Science’s Knight Sr. Director of Science Education. “Through the programs that we design and the partners that we choose to engage with, we are thinking specifically about adults. We’re reflecting on ourselves as adults in the Miami community and what we would like to see and also learn more about when it comes to science.”
Duran is particularly excited for the Thesis Bingo portion of the night. She explains, “Ph.D. Students are going to give a 2 to 3 minute thesis and the audience will get a Bingo card with jargon words that they may say, and if they say one of the words, you mark it on your card and you can get extra points for trying to define whatever word that they’re that they’re using.”
Since the evening’s theme is all about technology, Duran encourages guests to spend time experiencing the museum’s latest exhibit, “AI: More Than Human.”
“It challenges a lot of what people may already be thinking about AI,” she says. “It gives a new and fresh perspective to AI and tells a unique story. When you go through the exhibit, you start off learning about the history of AI, but through a very philosophical and religious lens… And then we go into what we’re thinking about AI today.”
WHAT: MyFi Studio at “nightLAB: Beyond the Algorithm”
WHERE: Frost Science Museum, 1101 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
WHEN: 7 p.m., Thursday, July 17
COST: $29.95 online, $34.99 at the door includes museum admission and all events.
INFORMATION: (305) 434-9600 or frostscience.org.
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