> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt
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# Generate Exhibition Titles with the Click of a Button
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/generate-exhibition-titles-with-the-click-of-a-button/
- Published: 2013-12-09T23:20:34.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:34:10.000Z
- Description: I was extremely pleased this afternoon when Museum Nerd tweeted the Lazy Curator Random Exhibition Title Generator. Conceived by Rebecca Uchill and programmed by Ben Guaraldi, the site, well, generates amazing exhibition titles at the click of a button.
- Author: Jillian Steinhauer
- Tags: Opinion, Internet, LOL, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 06:59 (2012, 2013, part 2)

![Screenshot of the Random Exhibition Title Generator](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2013/12/retg.png)

(screenshot via the Random Exhibition Title Generator)

Anyone who’s read [this](https://hyperallergic.com/the-best-artist-statement-generator-ive-seen-yet/) knows that I’m a fan of arty text generators. They’re just so … clever. And, when they’re done well, scarily accurate. Sometimes satire really is the best form of criticism, especially when the language involved is [demonstrably predictable](http://canopycanopycanopy.com/issues/16/contents/international%5Fart%5Fenglish?ref=hyperallergic.com).

So I was extremely pleased this afternoon when Museum Nerd [tweeted](https://twitter.com/museumnerd/status/410121425316761600?ref=hyperallergic.com) the [Lazy Curator Random Exhibition Title Generator](http://www.mit.edu/~ruchill/lazycurator.html?ref=hyperallergic.com). Conceived by Rebecca Uchill, a PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and programmed by [Ben Guaraldi](http://benguaraldi.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com), the site, well, generates amazing exhibition titles at the click of a button. Here’s a sampling:

> *Arbitrary Relevance: 15 Years of Progress* 
>  
>  
> *Decadent Chemistry: John Waters and the Avant Garde* 
>  
> *The Politics of Extravaganza: A Juried Show of Change* 
>  
> *Parsing Charm: The Video Art of Dilettantism*

And a personal favorite:

> *The Politics of (Im)Possibilities: Constructing a Praxis of Sameness*

I think I’ve seen that show. Or at least read the press release somewhere.

Part of the reason the generator is so convincing is that its titles are true to life. “Most of the vocabulary from the titles came from exhibitions, articles or conversations that were in my orbit at the time,” Uchill explained over email, with “that time” referring to February 2010, when she created the site. But the generator not only springs from life; it’s also affected it in a completely unexpected way: people have actually started using it to title their shows. Uchill sent a handful of examples that have come her way, including [this](http://rochellebrickner.com/2013/08/?ref=hyperallergic.com) Kansas City exhibition, [this](http://www.jimricks.info/apposite.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) one in Galway, and [this](http://theartguide.com/events/info/6045/relational-ground-defying-the-status-quo-artist-members-annual-group-exhibition?ref=hyperallergic.com) one in Chelsea.

From these we may conclude that a good percentage of exhibition titles are bullshit. But since we all know this, we may as well laugh about it and enjoy thevideo art of dilettantism.