#15 New Perspectives: From Franke’s Vision and Holly’s AI Artistry to Critical Dialogues
#15 New Perspectives: From Franke’s Vision and Holly’s AI Artistry to Critical Dialogues
👋 Hello, we are Julian and Marcel, and welcome to our weekly edition of The Curious Collector. Each week we humbly curate what’s happening in the digital art realm. ✨
It is a subscriber-only newsletter, delivered every Sunday, highlighting mainly digital and sometimes physical art news.
In this edition, we delve into the evolving art world. Explore Herbert W. Franke's rejuvenated “ZENTRUM” and the emerging digital art scene in Nigeria. Discover how artists like Krista Kim and Holly Herndon are redefining creativity using blockchain and AI. We also explore the digital art community's response to Jerry Saltz's critique, highlighting the continuous dialogue between traditional and digital art forms.
News Digest
Zentrum: Anika Meier, in collaboration with PROOF and EXPANDED.ART, presents "ZENTRUM" a revived 1982 abstract animation by Herbert W. Franke, with code updated by Aaron Penne. In his 1984 essay, Franke explores the potential of computers and software in art, suggesting that computer-generated art could one day match the value of traditional art.
Nigeria's Art Scene: The local art scene is experiencing a transformation through digital art, driven by blockchain and NFT innovation. Artists like Oghenerume Ohimor (Yinkore) and Freddie Jacob are finding new opportunities for expression and growth, blending technology with tradition to reshape Nigeria's artistic landscape.
Holly+: Holly Herndon, an artist and musician, uses machine learning for innovative art projects, including Holly+, a vocal deepfake trained on her voice. This project challenges traditional concepts of authorship and creativity in the AI-driven art world.
Digital Highlight
Orkhan Mammadov, an Azerbaijani new media artist, blends traditional Middle Eastern art with contemporary AI and machine learning techniques to create digital artworks that explore and redefine cultural heritage. His works aim to foster a dialogue on cultural identity in the context of rapidly evolving technology.
His latest release, “Muraqqa: Neural Impressions” is an animation that dynamically intertwines heritage elements, reanimating the essence of collective artistic spirit and history.
Notable Insight
“Refik Anadol’s mind-numbing multi-million dollar mediocre spectacle is a house of cards & hall of mirrors. Momentarily diverting gimmick art. Take away the music & it’s just a banal screensaver. Cool by me. I want all artists to be successful. The good; the bad; & the very bad.”
In his critique of Refik Anadol's work, including previous comments on 'Unsupervised' at MoMA, Jerry Saltz elicited a range of reactions, sparking a debate on the value and perception of digital art. The digital art community defended the genre’s innovation and Anadol’s contributions while acknowledging the need for diverse critical viewpoints to foster the growth and depth of digital art.
This debate is representative of a broader conversation about the generational divide in art appreciation. New, technology-focused collectors and traditional art aficionados might have differing values, highlighting the need for nuanced and inclusive dialogue to understand and evolve the discussion.
Sale Spotlight
"die with the most likes" aka Mark Wilson, an Indiana-based artist, gained prominence with his 666-piece "beef brothko" collection. Each piece was minted at Art Blocks Marfa, priced at $72.
Known for his grotesque and provocative style, Wilson's digital art explores themes of consumerism and the absurdity of human existence. His work often focuses on beef imagery, a metaphor reflecting the hilarity and inevitability of consumer behaviour.
Artist to Watch
The algorithm, inspired by the classifieds section of old newspapers, uses a grid system (3x3 to 20x20) with each cell, symbolizing an individual listing, randomly filled with polygons.
This concept, capturing the brevity and visual density of traditional classified ads, generates outputs from uniform to abstract designs and is part of the "ON/OFF SCREEN" exhibition at Vertical, following Fingacode's earlier collaboration with Christie's.
Tech & Texture
Digital Heartbeat: Krista Kim, a leading figure in digital art, advocates for using a unique 'heartbeat' algorithm on the blockchain as a digital signature. This innovation authenticates creators' works and aims to reintroduce a human-centric approach, countering the exploitative trends of surveillance capitalism.
Digital Provenance: At the Miami Art Week exhibition, participating artists are showcasing works that blend digital and physical art forms. They are utilizing T.R.A.C.E., a blockchain-based technology for managing the provenance of physical art, a topic we explored in issue 8.
This innovative approach combines the security and authenticity of digital art with the tangibility of traditional art, marking a significant evolution in art presentation and collection.
Closing Remarks
In this issue, we've journeyed from classic revivals to the cutting edge of digital art, showcasing transformative trends from Nigeria and beyond. As we sign off, let's continue to embrace the exciting interplay between various art forms. Stay curious until our next explorations.