One day after the US Senate‘s AI hearings in Washington, a very different tech-centric gathering convened in New York. He chose three artists, rather than technical executives, as protagonists. Together they described disparate futures for the art world to an audience gathered on the Spanish Steps inside NeueHousethe hip cultural hub and creative hub of the Flatiron District.
Rather than focusing on AI, the panel, hosted by Artnet and Mortlach on May 17, tackled all the digital phenomena that have rocked the worlds of art and design in recent years – and why not the blockchain, NFTand the metaverse too?
Whether by chance or by impeccable organization, the artists of “Offscreen: Current and Future States of Art, Design and Technology” have occupied the full spectrum of approaches to disruptive technologies, which has provided contrasts and moments of lively debate.
Sebastian Errazuriz, Khyati Trehan, Trevor Paglen, Sonia Manalili. Photo: Jason Crowley, courtesy of BFA.
Sebastian Errazuriz, born in Chile designate who is currently writing a book on AI, advocated wholehearted adoption of these technologies. “We have to run towards AI,” he said. “Blocking him makes no sense.” Trevor Paglen, an artist whose work has long exposed power structures through photography and investigative journalistic techniques, has offered consistent resistance. The advancement of these technologies is not in question, Paglen said, but their operating conditions should be. In the middle (both ideologically and literally on stage) was Khyati Trehana graphic designer and 3D visual artist who, although instinctively suspicious, has exploited the latest technological developments in a professional manner.
Despite their different positions, the three artists are at the cutting edge of technology. Each tried their hand at the hottest new digital trends that the tech world has come up with over the past three years. What differs are their approaches and conclusions.
Sonia Manalili, Trevor Paglen, Khyati Trehan, Sebastian Errazuriz. Photo: Jason Crowley, courtesy of BFA.
Errazuriz saw NFTs as an opportunity to critique notions of scarcity and value in the digital and physical world, so set about minting blockchain-linked diamonds, a collection he said was quickly becoming obsolete, counting. given how quickly the conversation changed. Rightly or wrongly, says Errazuriz, NFTs have a bad reputation. By contrast, Paglen isn’t interested in NFTs per se, but has used them for his most recent project “PRELUDES” as a way to connect with the dynamic. digital community who exists, one who would play the dystopian game he had created. “[The digital community] provides the opportunity for collaboration and collective problem solving, it can develop even more fruitful engagement, which is satisfying for me,” he said.
The essentials for the evening. Photo: Jason Crowley, courtesy of BFA.
For Trehan, the advent of NFTs were a chance share and sell their work with a wider community of people. But his enthusiasm, similar to that of Paglen, is based on the mechanics, the gamification potential of artistic experiences. One such idea, which she brainstormed onstage, involves an NFT that is only unlocked after an online chat. “The artwork would be about relationships,” says Trehan. “The process of accessing the NFT is related to the object of the work.”
Artists all foresee this future in which digital art extends far beyond the current norm of on-screen JPEGs and becomes both intensely interactive and deeply personal. Paglen anticipates netflix shows tailor their viewer-by-viewer narratives to suit tastes, and Errazuriz predicts a world in which becoming a master of bespoke AI prompts will be an essential skill for artists. “Right now, most prompts are just a few lines long,” Errazuriz says, “but they could soon span pages, and the number of parameters the artist puts into the images will create something worth really worth collecting.”
Artnet’s Sonia Manalili and designer and artist Khyati Trehan. Photo: Jason Crowley, courtesy of BFA.
For the technophobes in attendance at NeueHouse, there was a nice counterpoint to the discussion of the metaverse and the future that never really happened, at least not yet. First came Errazuriz, who spoke of his recurring false dawns. Trehan noted that she had a virtual reality headset, but didn’t use it much. Paglen talked about ditching a virtual reality project because, well, headsets are just plain uncomfortable. There was laughter and a momentary feeling that maybe things weren’t so certain after all.
“Offscreen: Current and Future States of Art, Design and Technology” will be published as a special edition of Artnet’s “The Art Angle” podcast. Come back here for check-in at a later date.
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