Wild A.I. ride very much captures the essence of my engagement with Artificial Intelligence (AI) system. In the following text I introduce you to my work, and my view on its theoretical and practical background.

Genesis of My Digital Art

During the late 1980s, I began my journey into digital art. By the early 1990s, I introduced my first digital art series, "Complex Compositions." The images within this series were generated using a program system I developed exclusively for digital art rendering. The render core used recursive algorithms and a math interpreter. In the following years, my artwork was exhibited at various locations, with solo exhibitions at the Düsseldorf office of Sun Microsystems and the B.A.T. Gallery in Bayreuth.

Generating Abstract Art with an AI System

Currently, intense debates surround creative work involving AI systems. Based on many months of work experiences let me share my viewpoint on this subject. Modern AI lacks consciousness, rendering it incapable of spontaneously initiating creative processes or generating novel concepts on it's own. Nevertheless, AI can serve as a remarkable tool, accelerating and supporting creative endeavors driven by human users. Drawing from vast data repositories, AI often offers unconventional solutions beyond human imagination. While some might label this as creativity, I contend that these approaches remained undiscovered by humans due to their limitations or biases.

AI stands out as one of the most sophisticated and refined tools humanity has ever devised. For an artist, it unveils a realm of boundless possibilities. My artistic process, however, starkly diverges from manual painting or the programming work required for my earlier digital art. Working with AI often evokes parallels to the role of a plant or animal breeder. They deliberately harness evolutionary methods to enhance or eliminate specific traits, akin to transforming unremarkable plants with inconspicuous flowers into magnificent blooms.

I recently encountered an exhibition themed 'Cultural Alchemy', a concept that deeply resonated with me as it mirrors my artistic process. It succinctly captures my interaction with artificial intelligence, prompting me to term my work 'Digital Alchemy'. Here, artificial intelligence functions as an alchemist's workshop, where I blend aspects of classical modernism and African art with my unique designs to generate my digital compositions.

My digital art process unfolds as follows: I commence with initial images serving as the AI's foundation. I select, create, or manipulate them in accordance with my creative vision. These images, accompanied by execution instructions, serve as the AI system's input. After processing the data, it generates an array of image suggestions. If one captivates me, I save it for later refinement; otherwise, I prompt the AI for further suggestions. This iterative cycle continues until the generated images align closely with my initial concept. Throughout this process, I employ two essential creative principles: mutation and crossover. Crossover involves merging outcomes from different image paths into the AI's input, while mutation entails manual adjustments to an AI-generated image, reintroducing it to the system. In addition to the modifications I make to the images, I utilize an aspect of storytelling or fantasizing, which is generally considered undesirable in purely text-based AI systems. In this context, the system provides responses that lack any factual basis but still seem believable and accurate without further scrutiny. When generating abstract images, this "quirk" can lead to fascinating effects, textures, or shapes reminiscent of the blending of undried colors in watercolor painting like so many other random-based working techniques which may render beautiful effects. All these methods vastly expand the realm of my creative possibilities. The challenge here is to maintain an overview and to preserve one's own signature or style.

An article on this subject, delving into painter David Salle's AI experiences, was recently published in the New York Times.

My Aesthetic

My work is characterized by organic lines and shapes that flow harmoniously, sometimes dissipating into sharp tentacles or spikes, intersecting, or, when many run parallel, forming surfaces and structures. I often create color fields using finely dotted, linear, or ring-shaped textures, resulting in patterns reminiscent of indigenous artwork.

While it may seem simple to describe, realizing these designs with AI is a challenge. Emulating the styles of artists like Marc Chagall, Paul Klee, or Picasso can be relatively straightforward, but developing a unique, personal style with AI requires constant attention and care. Typically, AI-generated art starts with an explicit text-based description, known as the "prompt." However, this alone is insufficient for my creations. Each of my works is built upon a sequence of images combined with a prompt to fully realize the concept.

My artistic inspiration comes from an inner quest to connect with the core of my 'Self.' I am driven by questions like: What is it that makes me feel and say 'I'? What is the essence of this, not from a scientific standpoint, but from an inner perspective? Have you ever been frustrated by the endless stream of thoughts racing through your mind when you just want to enjoy the moment? Why do I like or dislike a picture? What does a particular composition evoke in me? These introspections fuel my creativity and drive my motivation.

The images I create with AI both fascinate and unsettle me, as the line between human and machine influence becomes blurred. My goal is to engage deeper levels of the viewer's mind, sparking resonance and encouraging personal interpretation. My titles reflect only my personal connection to each piece. I encourage you, dear viewer, to look at the artwork first and read the title afterward. Relax, bypass your intellect, and allow yourself to feel the mood. Embrace the moment, and enjoy.

My artistic journey extends beyond the realm of digital art, commencing decades ago with solo exhibitions in the 1970s showcasing surrealistic paintings and wood sculptures. Since then, my creative pursuits have evolved, embracing a diverse array of mediums spanning both the tangible and digital domains.

In my physical portfolio, you'll find an array of stone, wood, and ceramic objects and sculptures. Alongside my exploration of AI art, I am currently engaged in a ceramics and a photography project.

Concurrent Projects

Inspired by the ceramic works of Magdalene Odundo, I embarked upon a ceramics project several years prior, concentrating on the design and creation of vases, various objects, and small-scale sculptures.
The aesthetic foundation of my vase designs is deliberately shaped by symmetries associated with the prime numbers 3, 5, and 7. Although trilateral symmetry is a rarity within the more familiar flora and fauna, it finds expression in certain floral species and microorganisms.
Such trilateral symmetry unveils novel design avenues, endowing objects with a dynamic visual impression that evolves within a 120-degree angular range around their symmetrical axis. Trilateral symmetries permit an elegant interplay with varying formal harmonies. When a slight twist is added to the trilateral form, the appearance of an object alternates between symmetric and asymmetric depending on the viewing angle. I am captivated by this effect because it allows me to perceive varied form characteristics and contrasting harmonies by simply changing my point of view. Upon first encountering this phenomenon, I resolved to incorporate it as a key attribute in the design of many of my future vases.
In my prevailing workflow, digital design and modeling tools are employed to envisage and refine my concepts. These designs are subsequently brought to life by 3D printing plastic molds, which are then used to cast gypsum drape molds. This method is favored over direct 3D printing of clay due to its superior surface finish and expedited production time. Each drape mold represents a third of the vase's body, necessitating three leather-hard clay segments to complete a single vase. The final assembly and additional sculpting of the vase are executed using conventional manual pottery techniques.

During a journey through Puglia in southern Italy in 2014, I encountered some very old olive tree for the first time. The fascination it sparked within me led to the initiation of a photography project that I have pursued since then, aimed at documenting a collection of these millennia-old trees.

Exhibitions

Here is a list of exhibitions where I have showcased my digital art.

The list displays exhibitions chronologically, starting with the newest at the top.

Date

Event

Artworks

29 September 2024

Canvas 3.0 Gallery in the Oculus World Trade Center, New York City, USA

24 September 2024

"Art and AI" at the Marketplace Conference in Berlin, Germany

20 to 22 September 2024

NFT IST: Silk Road event in Istanbul, Turkiye

7 June 2024

Colonna Contemporary gallery, Philadelphia, USA in their 'Cultural Alchemy' exhibition

29 May to 30 June 2024

Virtual Art exhibition "Art For Life" in Helsinki, Finland

24 April 2024

Digital Art Week London WoW at the Shoreditch Art Club, London, UK

21 to 24 February 2024

NFT Paris, France at 'deeep' art fair with Lezar House Gallery

Stages in My Artistic Journey

The following array of images each depict a piece representative of a section in my artistic endeavor. When the mouse pointer hovers over one of the tiles, a text with the corresponding years and information will be displayed beneath the tile field.