The very first photography commission inspired by AI
During 2022, there has been much discussion about the role of AI in art. Thanks in large part to how accessible generative adversarial networks (GANs) like Midjourney and DALL-E have become, individuals across the globe are uncovering their inner artists for the first time in their lives. Due to the ease of use of these AI-based art generating platforms, even those completely untrained in art now have the means to bring visions from the mind’s eye to reality.
This development has brought with it a rather big question: Will AI networks one day replace real artists?
Whether you’re in the NFT community or the traditional art community, chances are you’ve participated in discussions around this idea over the past few months. Now, in what she calls “the first photographic commission inspired by artificial intelligence”, artist Cath Simard explores this question in a completely new way.
The art of travel
Simard’s previous work in the NFT art space has served her well a strong fan base in his growing photography sphere. After a long career in landscape photography, Simard took his first steps into Web3 with his NFT collection at SuperRare, Lumière Du Noir. It’s a stunning collection of ethereal landscapes taken throughout Simard’s various travels around the world.
Through her images, Simard hopes to capture emotions felt in places at different times. Namely the points at which you arrive at a place and when you look back at it. The result is dreamlike, deeply personal landscapes that seem to mirror the ways Simard idealized them in her memory. However, with her latest creative venture From nowhere to somewhereSimard hopes to flip the script somewhat.
Instead of sharing parts of her adventures with the world, she invites the NFT community to create her next adventure for her.
This desire stems from the relationship Simard has developed with his community in the NFT art space. “My relationship with my NFT collectors is completely different from what I have with my physical print collectors. I interact with them on a daily basis and I see them as friends and mentors,” she said in an interview with nft now. “Because NFTs are brand new and constantly evolving with many ups and downs, I feel like it creates this unique bond with the people who support you. We’re on this journey together.”
Starting November 8th and running through November 11th, she invites her community to use EpoLabs in conjunction with Stable Diffusion to conjure up AI landscapes. After this creation period, there will be an auction that runs from November 12th to 14th and starts with a reserve of 0 ETH. For the auction, individuals must submit one AI piece from their gallery along with a bid.
The AI piece associated with the winning bid will act as commission for the 1/1 art.
From there, Simard will use the AI-generated piece as a framework for his next artwork. Following the selection of the winning entry, Simard will undergo a potentially year-long journey to attempt to recreate the winning piece in the real world via her own creative process, hiking and shooting until she nails it.
The process itself will spawn a whole new pipeline of creative opportunities for Simard, as she intends to “document and share each step of the process through a dedicated page on her website highlighting the project,” according to the press release.
When Simard finishes her work, she will mint her piece as an NFT on the collector’s platform of choice, as well as send them a 1/1 physical print of the finished work.
Additionally, the winning piece will not be the only artwork recognized through this process. Each bidder will receive a free coin to include their photo (or photos) in the memorial From Nowhere to Somewhere — The Creator’s Collection. Each bidder will also receive credits to continue using EpoLabs to create new artwork.
Why AI?
Although Simard’s work and the burgeoning art field of artificial intelligence may seem completely different, Simard says she got the idea for the project while playing with GANs herself. “Back in December 2021, I toyed with the idea of creating a commissioned piece of art. I feel that it’s something we haven’t seen much in the space, and that involves full trust in the artist. I had some ideas, but I wanted to take my time to come up with something that would create a unique relationship and collaboration between the collector and myself, she told nft now. “A few months later, while playing with DALL-E, I came up with the idea of creating an image based on an artificial artwork by the collector. I liked the idea of having a close collaboration with a single collector, where the start of the journey is based on his/her artwork and ends with a unique and personal 1/1 that includes both of our identities.”
As the art field of artificial intelligence has blossomed, it has been made clear that GANs are, at the end of the day, tools, and therefore still require the curation and taste of an individual to create art worth preserving. In an August 2022 episode of the nft now podcast, AI artist Claire Silver made this very point, comparing the rise of GANs to, poetically, the invention of the camera. “I like to think of AI as a camera for the imagination,” Silver said.
At the end of the day, all art is expression filtered through the lens of an artist through a specific medium. And for Simard, whatever the medium, the expression must come from somewhere deep within the artist. “You have to think of your art as an extension of yourself and your soul… In the end, you decide what you do with your art, but remember that your art is your legacy.” For its latest NFT project, Simard invites the winning bidder to help create a legacy.
