About Genna
Genna Gurvich, a conceptual artist living in Baltimore, Maryland. He is a graduate of the Kiev Institute of Applied Arts and Design and holds a master's degree in System Design from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and Industrial Design (Russia).
The primary interest in his practice, Genna Gurvich considers the interconnections and interdependencies in the history of art and culture as a whole. Utilizing computer algorithms, he creates a new visual panorama of these relationships.… more
About AI, 2023-2024
What do famous contemporary thinkers think about AI? Different and even opposing things. It often happens that a statement about the future becomes outdated at the moment of its realization. Only much later will one of them be retrieved, dusted off, and elevated to the rank of great predictions.
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Andrew Ng
What do famous contemporary thinkers think about AI? Different and even opposing things. It often happens that a statement about the future becomes outdated at the moment of its realization. Only much later will one of them be retrieved, dusted off, and elevated to the rank of great predictions.
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Douglas Hofstadter
What do famous contemporary thinkers think about AI? Different and even opposing things. It often happens that a statement about the future becomes outdated at the moment of its realization. Only much later will one of them be retrieved, dusted off, and elevated to the rank of great predictions.
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Elon Musk
What do famous contemporary thinkers think about AI? Different and even opposing things. It often happens that a statement about the future becomes outdated at the moment of its realization. Only much later will one of them be retrieved, dusted off, and elevated to the rank of great predictions.
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Max Tegmark
What do famous contemporary thinkers think about AI? Different and even opposing things. It often happens that a statement about the future becomes outdated at the moment of its realization. Only much later will one of them be retrieved, dusted off, and elevated to the rank of great predictions.
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NICK BOSTROM
What do famous contemporary thinkers think about AI? Different and even opposing things. It often happens that a statement about the future becomes outdated at the moment of its realization. Only much later will one of them be retrieved, dusted off, and elevated to the rank of great predictions.
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Ray Kurzweil
What do famous contemporary thinkers think about AI? Different and even opposing things. It often happens that a statement about the future becomes outdated at the moment of its realization. Only much later will one of them be retrieved, dusted off, and elevated to the rank of great predictions.
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Yann LeCun
What do famous contemporary thinkers think about AI? Different and even opposing things. It often happens that a statement about the future becomes outdated at the moment of its realization. Only much later will one of them be retrieved, dusted off, and elevated to the rank of great predictions.
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Yuval Harari
What do famous contemporary thinkers think about AI? Different and even opposing things. It often happens that a statement about the future becomes outdated at the moment of its realization. Only much later will one of them be retrieved, dusted off, and elevated to the rank of great predictions.
Proof Collection, 2023-2024
Our life is accompanied by certain statements that influence our various decisions. These can be phrases or formulas. It often happens that we have to prove them again and again, proving to ourselves and to a new generation. Many of them are as old as the world but are refreshed with each new proof.
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Prompt Your Self
Our life is accompanied by certain statements that influence our various decisions. These can be phrases or formulas. It often happens that we have to prove them again and again, proving to ourselves and to a new generation. Many of them are as old as the world but are refreshed with each new proof.
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Life is a competition
Our life is accompanied by certain statements that influence our various decisions. These can be phrases or formulas. It often happens that we have to prove them again and again, proving to ourselves and to a new generation. Many of them are as old as the world but are refreshed with each new proof.
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In Gold we trust
Our life is accompanied by certain statements that influence our various decisions. These can be phrases or formulas. It often happens that we have to prove them again and again, proving to ourselves and to a new generation. Many of them are as old as the world but are refreshed with each new proof.
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2x2=4
Our life is accompanied by certain statements that influence our various decisions. These can be phrases or formulas. It often happens that we have to prove them again and again, proving to ourselves and to a new generation. Many of them are as old as the world but are refreshed with each new proof.
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I was Born
Our life is accompanied by certain statements that influence our various decisions. These can be phrases or formulas. It often happens that we have to prove them again and again, proving to ourselves and to a new generation. Many of them are as old as the world but are refreshed with each new proof.
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Everything comes with a Price
Our life is accompanied by certain statements that influence our various decisions. These can be phrases or formulas. It often happens that we have to prove them again and again, proving to ourselves and to a new generation. Many of them are as old as the world but are refreshed with each new proof.
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Thou Shalt not Kill
Our life is accompanied by certain statements that influence our various decisions. These can be phrases or formulas. It often happens that we have to prove them again and again, proving to ourselves and to a new generation. Many of them are as old as the world but are refreshed with each new proof.
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Do you mind?
Our life is accompanied by certain statements that influence our various decisions. These can be phrases or formulas. It often happens that we have to prove them again and again, proving to ourselves and to a new generation. Many of them are as old as the world but are refreshed with each new proof.
Democracy, 2024
A small task for AI to generate letters for the word “Democracy”shows that the profound meaning of the concept of “Democracy” changes depending on the chosen color.
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Democracy
A small task for AI to generate letters for the word “Democracy”shows that the profound meaning of the concept of “Democracy” changes depending on the chosen color.
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Democracy 1
A small task for AI to generate letters for the word “Democracy”shows that the profound meaning of the concept of “Democracy” changes depending on the chosen color.
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Democracy 3
A small task for AI to generate letters for the word “Democracy”shows that the profound meaning of the concept of “Democracy” changes depending on the chosen color.
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Democracy 4
A small task for AI to generate letters for the word “Democracy”shows that the profound meaning of the concept of “Democracy” changes depending on the chosen color.
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Democracy 5
A small task for AI to generate letters for the word “Democracy”shows that the profound meaning of the concept of “Democracy” changes depending on the chosen color.
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Democracy 2
A small task for AI to generate letters for the word “Democracy”shows that the profound meaning of the concept of “Democracy” changes depending on the chosen color.
Old Sudoku, 2023-2024
Number puzzles appeared in newspapers in the late 19th century, when French puzzle setters began experimenting with removing numbers from magic squares.
So claims Wikipedia. But I have a sense that this is a very ancient game. I want to make it ancient. I want to impart various qualities to it. Although I only have 9 digits at my disposal.
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Old Sudoku 1
Number puzzles appeared in newspapers in the late 19th century, when French puzzle setters began experimenting with removing numbers from magic squares.
So claims Wikipedia. But I have a sense that this is a very ancient game. I want to make it ancient. I want to impart various qualities to it. Although I only have 9 digits at my disposal.
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Old Sudoku 2
Number puzzles appeared in newspapers in the late 19th century, when French puzzle setters began experimenting with removing numbers from magic squares.
So claims Wikipedia. But I have a sense that this is a very ancient game. I want to make it ancient. I want to impart various qualities to it. Although I only have 9 digits at my disposal.
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Old Sudoku 3
Number puzzles appeared in newspapers in the late 19th century, when French puzzle setters began experimenting with removing numbers from magic squares.
So claims Wikipedia. But I have a sense that this is a very ancient game. I want to make it ancient. I want to impart various qualities to it. Although I only have 9 digits at my disposal.
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Old Sudoku 4
Number puzzles appeared in newspapers in the late 19th century, when French puzzle setters began experimenting with removing numbers from magic squares.
So claims Wikipedia. But I have a sense that this is a very ancient game. I want to make it ancient. I want to impart various qualities to it. Although I only have 9 digits at my disposal.
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Old Sudoku 5
Number puzzles appeared in newspapers in the late 19th century, when French puzzle setters began experimenting with removing numbers from magic squares.
So claims Wikipedia. But I have a sense that this is a very ancient game. I want to make it ancient. I want to impart various qualities to it. Although I only have 9 digits at my disposal.
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Old Sudoku 6
Number puzzles appeared in newspapers in the late 19th century, when French puzzle setters began experimenting with removing numbers from magic squares.
So claims Wikipedia. But I have a sense that this is a very ancient game. I want to make it ancient. I want to impart various qualities to it. Although I only have 9 digits at my disposal.
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Old Sudoku 7
Number puzzles appeared in newspapers in the late 19th century, when French puzzle setters began experimenting with removing numbers from magic squares.
So claims Wikipedia. But I have a sense that this is a very ancient game. I want to make it ancient. I want to impart various qualities to it. Although I only have 9 digits at my disposal.
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Old Sudoku 8
Number puzzles appeared in newspapers in the late 19th century, when French puzzle setters began experimenting with removing numbers from magic squares.
So claims Wikipedia. But I have a sense that this is a very ancient game. I want to make it ancient. I want to impart various qualities to it. Although I only have 9 digits at my disposal.
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Old Sudoku 9
Number puzzles appeared in newspapers in the late 19th century, when French puzzle setters began experimenting with removing numbers from magic squares.
So claims Wikipedia. But I have a sense that this is a very ancient game. I want to make it ancient. I want to impart various qualities to it. Although I only have 9 digits at my disposal.
Oxford Dictionary and Virtual Illusion
Yuval Noah Harari noted that instead of creating a new reality, AI generates a new illusion. Douglas Hofstadter pointed out that AI is all about “ultrarapid processing of pieces of text, not about thinking or imagining or remembering or understanding”. At the same time, Nick Bostrom suggests: “In this century probably, we will be building this hugely consequential thing which is the first general intelligence that will be smarter than humans”. Yann LeCun claims: "Intelligent computers would create a new renaissance for humanity”.
How to make sense of these opposing views on AI? Can AI be a tool in art? Can AI create its own art? It's essential to delve into these questions, and to do so, one must roll up their sleeves.
After several months of daily practice with AI, exploring its ability to generate new visual objects, I've come to some conclusions. When AI creates objects, it has a very superficial, shell-like representation of the subject or phenomenon. Given the same task, AI generates an unlimited number of variations, creating an impression of déjà vu. The generated options seem to orbit around the "verbal task," being equally distant from it. AI will never exclaim "eureka," even if a human perceives certain options as having specific aesthetic and artistic qualities.
The question arises: can AI autonomously (without human involvement) create works of art – not necessarily now, but perhaps in the not-too-distant future? In other words, are there any fundamental limitations hindering AI from functioning as an autonomous creative entity?
Given the lack of consensus in scientific circles on this matter, it is prudent to assert that currently, AI is merely a tool in human hands, generating art objects based on a given task by accumulating and iterating over known elements. It does not form new meanings, while an artist creates, reinterprets their experience and accumulated material, presenting us with a new artistic concept.
It is from this understanding of the current situation that I approach my practice – for me, AI is the "tool of illusion." I strive to maximize the diverse qualities of this tool, using it to balance between the imaginary and the real, the momentary and the significant, always understanding the distinction between these concepts. AI allows me to clash styles and thoughts, where manner disputes matter.
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Virtual Illusion
This project is highly experimental. Starting it, I had no inkling of its final outcome. The essence of the project is as follows: I used a short version of the Oxford Dictionary with 5000 words and generated an image for each word. Approximately one third of the AI refused to 'illustrate' for various reasons. Another third was accompanied by identical images, completely unsuitable for the project. I opted against labeling the images with their meanings, as this would imply a reverse process. In sum, I amassed around 1800 images and divided them into 5 panels.
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Virtual Illusion 1
This project is highly experimental. Starting it, I had no inkling of its final outcome. The essence of the project is as follows: I used a short version of the Oxford Dictionary with 5000 words and generated an image for each word. Approximately one third of the AI refused to 'illustrate' for various reasons. Another third was accompanied by identical images, completely unsuitable for the project. I opted against labeling the images with their meanings, as this would imply a reverse process. In sum, I amassed around 1800 images and divided them into 5 panels.
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Virtual Illusion 2
This project is highly experimental. Starting it, I had no inkling of its final outcome. The essence of the project is as follows: I used a short version of the Oxford Dictionary with 5000 words and generated an image for each word. Approximately one third of the AI refused to 'illustrate' for various reasons. Another third was accompanied by identical images, completely unsuitable for the project. I opted against labeling the images with their meanings, as this would imply a reverse process. In sum, I amassed around 1800 images and divided them into 5 panels.
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Virtual Illusion 3
This project is highly experimental. Starting it, I had no inkling of its final outcome. The essence of the project is as follows: I used a short version of the Oxford Dictionary with 5000 words and generated an image for each word. Approximately one third of the AI refused to 'illustrate' for various reasons. Another third was accompanied by identical images, completely unsuitable for the project. I opted against labeling the images with their meanings, as this would imply a reverse process. In sum, I amassed around 1800 images and divided them into 5 panels.
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Virtual Illusion 4
This project is highly experimental. Starting it, I had no inkling of its final outcome. The essence of the project is as follows: I used a short version of the Oxford Dictionary with 5000 words and generated an image for each word. Approximately one third of the AI refused to 'illustrate' for various reasons. Another third was accompanied by identical images, completely unsuitable for the project. I opted against labeling the images with their meanings, as this would imply a reverse process. In sum, I amassed around 1800 images and divided them into 5 panels.
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Virtual Illusion 5
This project is highly experimental. Starting it, I had no inkling of its final outcome. The essence of the project is as follows: I used a short version of the Oxford Dictionary with 5000 words and generated an image for each word. Approximately one third of the AI refused to 'illustrate' for various reasons. Another third was accompanied by identical images, completely unsuitable for the project. I opted against labeling the images with their meanings, as this would imply a reverse process. In sum, I amassed around 1800 images and divided them into 5 panels.
Art History Project, 2015-2022
In the history of art, I am primarily interested in color, as the most important element in the development of this history. The color palette of painting is constantly expanding in time, space, styles and temperaments, imagination and materials used. If we concentrate on the number of paintings created throughout history (I found a figure of 15 billion), then how to realize, to assimilate this grandiose scale?
At first there appeared a simple curiosity. Is it possible to imagine all this mass of canvases as a single color composition? We have to apply a common denominator to each picture in the form of an average color, we will see a mosaic consisting of multi-colored pixels. But the task of processing billions of paintings seems overwhelming without some kind of sampling.
The principle must be completely randomized. For the beginning, let's take artists whose last name starts with the letter A and select one painting of each artist (the first one in a Google search). Belonging to time, genre, art school and other color determining features will be completely excluded. The result is a 3600, or 60x60 pixel composition representing artists starting with the letter A.
Now let's repeat the same with the letter Z. Here we have 900, or 30x30 pixels. But we see that the overall coloring remains unchanged. You can extrapolate the result and conclude that all other letters will give a similar flavor with a difference only in the number of pixels. Topic closed. Issue resolved. Is not it?
Let's complicate the issue. How to highlight a large amount of work with any features that affect the result? The history itself suggests the principle of dividing artists by style. Let's compare Byzantine art, Renaissance, Baroque, Impressionism, Cubism, Fauvism, Conceptual art and other movements. The difference is clear and multifaceted. You can draw conclusions and analyze.
But let's dig even deeper. Museums. Do long-term collections, biases of different selection committees and curators affect the color of pixel compositions? For even greater “beauty” of the experiment, I choose 3 museums in New York (Metropolitan, Guggenheim, MOMA) and 3 museums in Paris (Louvre, d’Orsay, Center J. Pompidou). There is a difference. Not so striking. But it gives food for thought.
Let's take a breath. Luckily, the project took several years to complete. How do political leanings affect art? Politicians classify artists as one group or another. We remember the "degenerate art" during the third Reich and can compare it with the official creations (small but manageable difficulty in finding work) of the same period. A couple of Soviet and nonconformist arts in the USSR is also interesting. Influence and very eloquently.
Speaking about the influence on color in the history of art, one cannot avoid such an important topic as the material used by artists. In addition to tempera, oil paints, acrylic, we should pay attention to stained glass and mosaics. For an adequate result, I use the works of the classical period for these materials.
Also, when working on stained glass windows, I remove the color of lead from the averaging, which almost always looks like black on photographs.
And the last (for today) experiment. It is not about finding differences, but about identifying commonality of the color pixel, despite ... the differences of nations. In this case, it is necessary to comply a single algorithm for selecting pictures and their color averaging. The first is a selection of 100 countries with a sufficient number of artists in Google search. Second - each country is represented by 35-50 authors, one (the first in the search display) picture from each artist. Third - step by step averaging of each work, transforming into a same size pixel and averaging all 35-50 pixels into one, then placing them in alphabetical order. 100 (10x10) pixel-nations with fairly similar hues.
Does this mean that there are national differences in general color? No, a more complete sample is needed for such verification. Perhaps we need all artists of every country and all of their works. Also this result will depend on the changes in color reproduction when working in Photoshop by millions of photographers and a displacement of this mass of photos across the expanses of Google.
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Volume A and Z
For the beginning, let's take artists whose last name starts with the letter A and select one painting of each artist (the first one in a Google search). Belonging to time, genre, art school and other color determining features will be completely excluded. The result is a 3600, or 60x60 pixel composition representing artists starting with the letter A. Now let's repeat the same with the letter Z. Here we have 900, or 30x30 pixels. But we see that the overall coloring remains unchanged. You can extrapolate the result and conclude that all other letters will give a similar flavor with a difference only in the number of pixels. Topic closed. Issue resolved. Is not it? 2015, 60x60 and 30x30 inches, archival pigment print on Exhibition fiber
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Byzantine, Surrealism, Pop, MinimalismLet's complicate the issue. How to highlight a large amount of work with any features that affect the result? The history itself suggests the principle of dividing artists by style. Let's compare Byzantine art, Renaissance, Baroque, Impressionism, Cubism, Fauvism, Conceptual art and other movements. The difference is clear and multifaceted. You can draw conclusions and analyze. 2020, 30x30 inches each, archival pigment print on Exhibition fiber
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Baroque, Cubism, Dada, ConceptualismLet's complicate the issue. How to highlight a large amount of work with any features that affect the result? The history itself suggests the principle of dividing artists by style. Let's compare Byzantine art, Renaissance, Baroque, Impressionism, Cubism, Fauvism, Conceptual art and other movements. The difference is clear and multifaceted. You can draw conclusions and analyze. 2020, 30x30 inches each, archival pigment print on Exhibition fiber
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1913,1919 and 1938,1946How do wars affect art? Is there something in color that betrays a premonition of war and something that indicates war-weariness at the end of it? For the experiment, I used the years preceding and following the two great wars of the twentieth century: 1913, 1919 and 1938, 1946. Intuition suggested that the difference would be obvious, but the result surprised me. Perhaps the artists of the twentieth century did not reflect on real life as much as belonging to any art movement. 2022, 30x30 inches each, archival pigment print on Exhibition fiber
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Guggenheim, Metropolitan, MoMA, Pompidou, Louvre, d'OrsayMuseums. Do long-term collections, biases of different selection committees and curators affect the color of pixel compositions? For even greater “beauty” of the experiment, I choose 3 museums in New York (Metropolitan, Guggenheim, MOMA) and 3 museums in Paris (Louvre, d’Orsay, Center J. Pompidou). There is a difference. Not so striking. But it gives food for thought. 2022, 30x30 inches each, archival pigment print on Exhibition fiber
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Most Expensive and Bad PaintingsWorking on comparing the most expensive paintings (between 75 million and almost 500 million) and the bad paintings (official movement) in my project, I realized that the history of painting is a billion shades of gray. 2022, 30x30 inches each, archival pigment print on Exhibition fiber
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Degenerate, Nazi, Nonconformism, SovietHow do political leanings affect art? Politicians classify artists as one group or another. We remember the "degenerate art" during the third Reich and can compare it with the official creations (small but manageable difficulty in finding work) of the same period. A couple of Soviet and nonconformist arts in the USSR is also interesting. Influence and very eloquently. 2022, 30x30 inches each, archival pigment print on Exhibition fiber
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Art of Youth and WisdomWe know many examples of the creative longevity of artists. Let's see how youthful enthusiasm is replaced by skill and wisdom. Each of the 100 artists is represented by one of their first and last works. 2022, 30x30 inches each, archival pigment print on Exhibition fiber
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Stained Glass and MosaicSpeaking about the influence on color in the history of art, one cannot avoid such an important topic as the material used by artists. In addition to tempera, oil paints, acrylic, we should pay attention to stained glass and mosaics. For an adequate result, I use the works of the classical period for these materials. Also, when working on stained glass windows, I remove the color of lead from the averaging, which almost always looks like black on photographs. 2022, 30x30 inches each, archival pigment print on Exhibition fiber
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Art of NationsIt is not about finding differences, but about identifying commonality of the color pixel, despite ... the differences of nations. In this case, it is necessary to comply a single algorithm for selecting pictures and their color averaging. The first is a selection of 100 countries with a sufficient number of artists in Google search. Second - each country is represented by 35-50 authors, one (the first in the search display) picture from each artist. Third - step by step averaging of each work, transforming into a same size pixel and averaging all 35-50 pixels into one, then placing them in alphabetical order. 100 (10x10) pixel-nations with fairly similar hues. Does this mean that there are national differences in general color? No, a more complete sample is needed for such verification. Perhaps we need all artists of every country and all of their works. Also this result will depend on the changes in color reproduction when working in Photoshop by millions of photographers and a displacement of this mass of photos across the expanses of Google. 2022, 30x30 inches, archival pigment print on Exhibition fiber
Periodic Table of Art Elements, 2021
Having spent countless hours in my studio and not venturing out much during to the pandemic, I had the time to look toward art history and visual culture as reference points in developing a new project. Titled “The Periodic Table of Art Elements,” my intention was to breakdown and reconstruct an imagining of its various eras, trends, styles and individual artist works as neural networks, the manner by which information is decoded, interconnected, and made interdependent. My goal here was to identify and then fuse the random and disparate visual languages I discovered throughout art history and then remake them in my own visual, pixelated vocabulary. Much like the famed periodic table of chemical elements, my project, using a scientific approach, creates a logical display and expressive presentation of art history’s most iconic works. The result of which, is both alien and familiar as it engages audiences to see that ubiquitous history from a universal point-of-view.
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the Periodic Table of Art Elements
Having spent countless hours in my studio and not venturing out much during to the pandemic, I had the time to look toward art history and visual culture as reference points in developing a new project. Titled “The Periodic Table of Art Elements,” my intention was to breakdown and reconstruct an imagining of its various eras, trends, styles and individual artist works as neural networks, the manner by which information is decoded, interconnected, and made interdependent. My goal here was to identify and then fuse the random and disparate visual languages I discovered throughout art history and then remake them in my own visual, pixelated vocabulary. Much like the famed periodic table of chemical elements, my project, using a scientific approach, creates a logical display and expressive presentation of art history’s most iconic works. The result of which, is both alien and familiar as it engages audiences to see that ubiquitous history from a universal point-of-view.
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Piero Della Francesca
Piero della Francesca is one of the most admired 15th-century Italian painters. The cool colour palette and geometrical compositions contribute to the refined and meditative nature of his works.
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Vermeer
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HockneyAvailable for Purchase
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Eliasson
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Do Ho Suh
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kusamaAvailable for Purchase
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Pollock
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HokusaiAvailable for Purchase
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Becher