EVA KOZANECKA

Developments in technologies have long influenced image-making. From photography to aerial and satellite imagery to digital printing techniques, the possibilities for visualization afforded by new technologies have always spawned new forms of expression.

In recent years, advances in machine learning are similarly revolutionizing how artists make pictures. Deep neural networks, or algorithms inspired by the structure of the human brain, enable features like image search and language translation. When run in reverse, these networks can generate novel images and text.

This room-scale installation, presented at Printed Matter’s 2019 LA Art Book Fair (LAABF) presented April 12-14, 2019 at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, focuses on works made from 2015 to today to trace the emergent practices of artists creating with machine intelligence. Drawn primarily from works produced in residency at, or in collaboration with, Google’s Artists + Machine Intelligence program, the show begins with early experiments in understanding and giving form to the algorithmic gaze. It showcases artists who use generative techniques to create portraits and landscapes that come from our world, but are, nonetheless, otherworldly. The show concludes with a text essay by Hito Steyerl that considers the implications of early AI technologies, setting the scene for new technologies we may want to build.

Artists: Refik Anadol, Ross Goodwin, Casey Reas, Anna Ridler, Hito Steyerl, and Tom White 

Organized by Eva Kozanecka and Kenric McDowell, in collaborations with Anteism Books