The Watcher (Clown Cloud #1)

This work is part of my series “New beginnings, old endings, secrets secreting" where I use the Playform GAN to explore alternative methods of art creation and digital outsourcing. I use my past work "Color, Balance", as a data set to train the machine in my paintings’ style. I then feed the network specific portraits I find online. The result of this process provides the base for new paintings I further alter in Photoshop. Works are given life and animated in After Effects. When a neural network produces images, computer scientists often refer to them as ‘dreams’ due to their soft surreal-like quality. Considered a stepping stone in the search for artificial intelligence, hopes and fears surrounding these technologies act like barnacles on a ship—attaching themselves to ideas larger than any individual advance. Will AI create a new digital revolution freeing people of menial tasks or bring the end of humanity itself? The subject prompts consideration of my dreams and nightmares; real and imagined, small and large, wholesome, and vapid. I pair each work with a specific hope or fear of my own. Still images from this series were part of the exhibition "A Dream Within a Dream," organized by Playform Studio. Curated by Jessica Davidson, the show focuses on artists who use the Playform GAN in the process of creating their work. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the exhibition was presented online through Artsy in October, 2020. I first presented my series "New beginnings, old endings, secrets secreting" at RISE (NYC) in 2019 as part of the panel discussion "ARTificial Intelligence" organized by Eleonora Brizi.