The Wende Museum is proud to present The Romance of Technology, a boundary-pushing immersive talk by acclaimed artist, filmmaker, and immersive storyteller David Van Eyssen, on Saturday, July 19 at 2:00 PM. Part personal memoir, part creative manifesto, this event explores the evolving relationship between human emotion and the machine—with the help of AI, video, XR, and sound. Van Eyssen, whose career spans award-winning campaigns for brands like BMW, Google, and Pepsi, is a pioneer of interactive media and the creator of the groundbreaking transmedia series RCVR. His artistic work—ranging from painting and photography to sculpture and extended reality—has been exhibited internationally and is held in major public and private collections. “Technology’s alienating qualities draw me to it. They heighten my awareness that reality is always just out of reach,” says Van Eyssen. “In that way, it becomes a mirror of my own isolation, and offers the critical distance I need to create. Over time, I’ve come to see its presence in every aspect of art-making. That’s why I fell in love with it: because it’s the counterpart, the reflection—inescapable, and brutally honest.” The Romance of Technology offers a rare glimpse into the mind of an artist who has used machines not to distance, but to understand—and to connect. With striking visuals and unexpected interventions, this talk promises to be as emotionally resonant as it is conceptually bold. This event is presented as part of the Wende Museum’s Art Across Boundaries series, with generous support from Skip Victor and in partnership with LAist.