Curating AI at 120710 Gallery (Berkeley)
Panel discussion: I enjoyed participating on a panel discussion, moderated by UC Berkeley astrophysics Prof. Josh Bloom, with UC Berkeley robotics Prof. Ken Goldberg, Carl Bass. We got to discuss the various ways AI is being used in the art world, if the use of AI should be disclosed, as well as whether the widespread use of AI tools will push artists to innovate in new ways. [VIDEO]
I had the honor to exhibit five of my art pieces in a group show exploring ways in which artists are working with AI today. During my artist talk and in the panel discussion, I discussed my inspiration from 16th century “cabinets of curiosities” used to systematically organize and preserve an era’s scientific learnings. In the 6’ long Convolutions (112 synthetic neurons from Inception v1, inception layer 3a), I collected 112 technological specimens of our time: Synthetic neurons from a landmark neural network model that have attuned themselves to the visual fragments found in millions of Internet photos. I enjoyed observing exhibit participants look through one of my two “Windows of Perception” and experiencing the initial moment of AI visual perception — the scanning for simple edges and forms — machine-learned forms that reference visual bias in its primal form. Similarly, in my two Machine Seeing Tree photographs, I contemplate the first steps of how AI “perceives” nature.
About the show: While AI operates in the abstract digital field of information, this exhibit highlights artworks with physical materiality, often handmade, that utilize AI as a key element in the creative process. This juxtaposition of the intangible with the tangible opens the opportunity for viewers to reflect on the timely debates about training data, bias, ownership, and the transference of creativity between digital and physical realms. Curated by Josh Bloom, Steve Lomprey, Claudia Bloom
Fellow artists: Brett Amory, Carl Bass, Claudia Bloom, Etienne Chambaud, Luke Dzwonczyk, Elle O Hill, Ahna Girshick, Steve Lomprey, Greg O. Niemeyer, Joel Simon
