AI Art Night by Fundacja Augmentika
20—08
On August 20th, the Augmentika Foundation transformed the migrant bar Karma into a multi-tiered AI Art Space. The first floor hosted an Internet café, designed as an incubator for creative expression, where anyone could generate AI art using popular neural networks. The second floor hosted the exhibition "Hallucinations" — a deep dive into the uncanny and deceptive reality of our AI-augmented present reality, as well as the imminent future.
Even though it was really hot that day, more than 400 people came to our AI Art Night. However, we were aware that a pop-up event came with its limitations, and not everyone would get the opportunity to see the exhibition in person. This realization prompted us to craft a digital gallery complete with a digital twin on the Matterport platform, enabling anyone to explore it online.
by Fundacja Augmentika*
Hallucinations
Exhibition
As part of the pop-up exhibition "Hallucinations," we showcased the works of four Belarusian artists working in various media such as photography, sound art, video, fashion design, and installation. What united them was their interest in new media and the possibilities brought about by neural networks and programs for generating images, texts, videos, and sound. Under the guidance of experts from the Augmentika Foundation, they have prepared works that premiered during the AI Art Night Lab at Karma in Warsaw.
20.08.2023,
Karma Crew,
Warsaw
Karma Crew,
Warsaw
"Hallucinations" refer to fabricated, AI-generated information that deceptively resembles facts, presented to the recipient as if they were objective scientific knowledge. These are mistakes, logical errors that are difficult to catch by humans. They arise when AI lacks sufficient data and begins to confabulate, often reflecting the functioning of the human mind, which also invents "missing data." This can be compared to optical illusions, where the brain misinterprets sensory data, leading to the perception of something that isn't there. Hallucinations are also colloquially understood as various types of narcotic visions, dreams, bad trips, and future images.
by Augmentika Foundation*
The works of the artists presented at the "Hallucinations" exhibition showcased generated, surreal, and glitched visions of the future. They might seem futuristic at first, but they visualized an "uncanny" future that was already happening before our eyes. The artists addressed issues such as surveillance, propaganda, fake news, digital death, and the impact of technology and medicine on our bodies.
They not only used artificial intelligence to create their works but also asked critical questions about the consequences of its use in the socio-political sphere. The works were created from a specific perspective and personal experience. All of the artists are immigrants from Belarus, a totalitarian state that utilizes new technologies to surveil its citizens.
ginarium
Ima
Imaginarium, 2023, AI-generated images
The "Imaginarium" project is dedicated to exploring the interactions between propaganda and human consciousness. Following the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine, the artist began to delve into the contemporary ideology of the Russian state, rooted in the work of the so-called "methodologists," a group of individuals including politicians, whose aim was to reprogram human thinking. Supported by philosophers, the propagandistic concept of the "Russian World," which seeks to cultivate mechanistic thinking within society, is intriguingly perceived by artificial intelligence.
Quotations from Putin's speeches were employed in the neural network Dall-E, which generated images illustrating the words of the Russian President. The images produced are highly ambivalent, portraying not the grandiose images of the "Great Russia," but rather surreal, unsettling depictions. The neural networks, however, reflect the emotions inherent in these words, such as fear, anger, a sense of instability, or lack of logic.
Θησεύς
The video Θησεύς created with the assistance of artificial intelligence presents a dystopian scenario of human development, in which people, in pursuit of immortality, modify their bodies using technology. We witness distinct stages of evolution, wherein initially, the figures are devoid of genitals and organs responsible for hormones and emotions. Bodies gradually transform into machines, and the world becomes a place where there is no longer old age or youth, sadness, but also joy.
This dark project, much like many works of science fiction, is crafted based on extrapolating a process we have been engaged in for decades, termed "pharmacopornographic system" by Paul B. Preciado. The title of the artist's work refers to the "Ship of Theseus" paradox. Ancient Athenians pondered whether the ship of Theseus, continually reconstructed over the years with all its parts replaced, remained the same ship. A similar question is posed by the artist in the context of the transformation of the human body.
Θησεύς, 2023, Video Utilizing AI
ace
F
Face, 2023, AI-generated images + installation
The project encourages viewers to contemplate the consequences of these technological advancements for our well-being and autonomy. Furthermore, it emphasizes the role of makeup not only as an aesthetic tool but also as a means of self-expression and resistance.
The "Face" project explores issues related to contemporary privacy, identity, and the development of surveillance technology. Elena Rabkina, using artificial intelligence, created makeup instructions designed to effectively aid in evading facial recognition by AI software. However, the text generators themselves were unwilling to provide the artist with answers on this subject. Rabkina discovered a way to bypass these limitations by piecing together necessary insights step by step.
Alongside the makeup schemes showcased in the exhibition, we present an installation featuring a space for its application based on the tutorial. "Face" raises questions concerning the matters of identity and privacy in the context of the digital age and evolving surveillance systems that may compel us to modify what we most identify with—our face.
2.0
Sound Installation
Digital
Ceme
tery
Ceme
tery
The sound installation titled "Digital Cemetery 2.0" addresses the theme of digital death, which involves the protection of data, fragments of content, and photos that remain online after a person's passing. The artist, associated with theater and playwriting, created profiles of several individuals. Utilizing text and voice generators, she crafted monologues for fictional deceased characters.
Additionally, the artist employed auto-selected words from a phone, which suggested phrases and topics most frequently used by the respective individuals during their lives. The artwork draws attention to the humanistic aspect of data, often treated en masse as "big data" on the internet, devoid of individuality.
Digital Cemetery 2.0, 2023, Sound Installation
The AI Artworks created in real-time at our Internet cafe, "Friends of AI."
Some of these were turned into postcards in collaboration with Politzek.me.
Some of these were turned into postcards in collaboration with Politzek.me.
by Various Artists
Non
-profit
-profit
*Augmentika Foundation
Augmentika Foundation is a non-profit organization that connects artists with new technologies, including AI, to give them unlimited creative superpowers. Tech solutions won’t replace artists but they’ll enhance and augment their capabilities.
Our job is to make it happen as soon as possible and as smoothly as possible. Follow us on Instagram to learn more about our projects and our mission.
⭑ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭* ✩‧₊
⭑ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭* ✩‧₊
This content does not reflect the official stance of the Goethe-Institut or the European Union
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Site made by Vaiteh
