Alkan Avcıoğlu, “Images possess the dynamic energies of ideas and can be compared to living organisms.”
In an extensive conversation with Alkan Avcıoğlu, Esin Hamamcı delved into the possibilities of digital advancements in art, their influence on the industry’s future, advancements in artistic techniques, and Avcıoğlu’s latest endeavors — including his project “The Critic” e NFT Museum in Seattle.
The “Convergence: AI and Art” exhibition was organized by the Seattle NFT Museum in partnership with Bright Moments. How did you become involved with this project and the museum? What was the beginning of the story?
The museum was searching for innovative works created with artificial intelligence for the exhibition, and I submitted my work. They responded quickly and expressed their admiration for the concept of the work, stating it was precisely what they were looking for. It was unexpected for me to participate in this exhibit since there are only 12 other well-established artists besides me.
What work did you contribute, and what was your conceptual approach?
My piece in the exhibition is titled “The Critic.” It is a multi-layered and recursive work containing works within works. It depicts a critic observing a piece in a museum with a minimalist composition. Symbolically, the work the critic is observing is a jet-black painting that represents all art and creativity. This opens the door to a multi-layered gallery of meaning: The viewer initially identifies with the critic while looking at my work, but the fact that this work is produced by artificial neural networks trained for years with human artworks changes the situation. Who is the critic figure observing the painting? Is it the figure of us looking at this work or is it the artificial intelligence that looks at all the works of art produced by humanity at once?
What technique did you use?
My creative process is based on producing vast quantities with Midjourney and similar tools. I don’t use a different technique: I prefer raw outputs that are far from post-production, where the aesthetics and imperfections of artificial intelligence are apparent. Therefore, my production style concentrates on countless iterations and creating a space where the image can exist on its own.
One of my idols, the Chilean experimental film director Raúl Ruiz, once said in an interview: “We forget that images exist on their own. The amount of information an image carries is enormous compared to the human being trying to organise it.” Similarly, I believe that the potential information in an image is much greater than the artist’s intentions or manual skills. Photos are like organisms that carry the dynamic energies of ideas, and these energies are not limited to the consciousness or purposes of the artist. In this context, I see the creation process with artificial intelligence as an image hunt in the collective unconscious.
In this exhibition, how do you think artificial intelligence influences art?
In my opinion, artificial intelligence is the only candidate to add a new ring to the expression language of art in the coming period. Many branches of art are tired; from classical painting to photography, video art to cinema, they have difficulty in saying innovative things and finding new forms of expression. Artificial intelligence expands the definition and boundaries of art. Not only in the production stage, but also in the interpretation and criticism stages, it changes how art is perceived. It gives birth to brand-new forms of expression.
In the history of art, we see that all of the innovative ways of expression, from impressionism to cubism, and all of the new technologies, from the camera to the digital camera, were initially strange and excluded. Undoubtedly, synthetic images produced with artificial intelligence will also be despised and ostracised for an extended period. They will strike fear into traditionalists. But no matter what, artificial intelligence will be the next big stop of art. Moreover, in the long run, just as the invention of the camera brought fresh air to painting, artificial intelligence will liberate many traditional art forms and enable them to find a new breath.
How did you develop your connection with digital art? How did you begin to produce work in this field?
Although I have done many different things, from film criticism to DJing, I have always had a life intertwined with art. I have read extensively about art history and worked theoretically. My first experience with digital art began in 1999. During my university years, I created hundreds of digital paintings in the abstract digital expression style, but I did not showcase any of them. After that, my career mainly developed in the cinema and music sectors.
However, I always kept up with the studies on artificial intelligence technology and consciousness. After 20 years, I returned to digital painting in 2021 because I was intrigued by the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence technology. I concluded my work and studies in my other sectors and began to focus entirely on artificial intelligence and digital art.During a discussion with Alkan Avcıoğlu, Esin Hamamcı explored the potential of digital innovations in art, their impact on the future of the industry, improvements in art practices and Avcıoğlu’s new projects, specifically his work “The Critic” at the NFT Museum in Seattle.
The “Convergence: AI and Art” exhibition was organized by the Seattle NFT Museum in partnership with Bright Moments. How did you become involved with this project and the museum? What was the beginning of the story?
The museum was searching for innovative works created with artificial intelligence for the exhibition, and I submitted my work. They responded quickly and expressed their admiration for the concept of the work, stating it was precisely what they were looking for. It was unexpected for me to participate in this exhibit since there are only 12 other well-established artists besides me.
What work did you contribute, and what was your conceptual approach?
My piece in the exhibition is titled “The Critic.” It is a multi-layered and recursive work containing works within works. It depicts a critic observing a piece in a museum with a minimalist composition. Symbolically, the work the critic is observing is a jet-black painting that represents all art and creativity. This opens the door to a multi-layered gallery of meaning: The viewer initially identifies with the critic while looking at my work, but the fact that this work is produced by artificial neural networks trained for years with human artworks changes the situation. Who is the critic figure observing the painting? Is it the figure of us looking at this work or is it the artificial intelligence that looks at all the works of art produced by humanity at once?
What technique did you use?
My creative process is based on producing vast quantities with Midjourney and similar tools. I don’t use a different technique: I prefer raw outputs that are far from post-production, where the aesthetics and imperfections of artificial intelligence are apparent. Therefore, my production style concentrates on countless iterations and creating a space where the image can exist on its own.
One of my idols, the Chilean experimental film director Raúl Ruiz, once said in an interview: “We forget that images exist on their own. The amount of information an image carries is enormous compared to the human being trying to organise it.” Similarly, I believe that the potential information in an image is much greater than the artist’s intentions or manual skills. Photos are like organisms that carry the dynamic energies of ideas, and these energies are not limited to the consciousness or purposes of the artist. In this context, I see the creation process with artificial intelligence as an image hunt in the collective unconscious.
In this exhibition, how do you think artificial intelligence influences art?
In my opinion, artificial intelligence is the only candidate to add a new ring to the expression language of art in the coming period. Many branches of art are tired; from classical painting to photography, video art to cinema, they have difficulty in saying innovative things and finding new forms of expression. Artificial intelligence expands the definition and boundaries of art. Not only in the production stage, but also in the interpretation and criticism stages, it changes how art is perceived. It gives birth to brand-new forms of expression.
In the history of art, we see that all of the innovative ways of expression, from impressionism to cubism, and all of the new technologies, from the camera to the digital camera, were initially strange and excluded. Undoubtedly, synthetic images produced with artificial intelligence will also be despised and ostracised for an extended period. They will strike fear into traditionalists. But no matter what, artificial intelligence will be the next big stop of art. Moreover, in the long run, just as the invention of the camera brought fresh air to painting, artificial intelligence will liberate many traditional art forms and enable them to find a new breath.
The “Convergence: AI and Art” exhibition was organized by the Seattle NFT Museum in partnership with Bright Moments. How did you become involved with this project and the museum? What was the beginning of the story?
The museum was searching for innovative works created with artificial intelligence for the exhibition, and I submitted my work. They responded quickly and expressed their admiration for the concept of the work, stating it was precisely what they were looking for. It was unexpected for me to participate in this exhibit since there are only 12 other well-established artists besides me.
In this exhibition, how do you think artificial intelligence influences art?
In my opinion, artificial intelligence is the only candidate to add a new ring to the expression language of art in the coming period. Many branches of art are tired; from classical painting to photography, video art to cinema, they have difficulty in saying innovative things and finding new forms of expression. Artificial intelligence expands the definition and boundaries of art. Not only in the production stage, but also in the interpretation and criticism stages, it changes how art is perceived. It gives birth to brand-new forms of expression.
In the history of art, we see that all of the innovative ways of expression, from impressionism to cubism, and all of the new technologies, from the camera to the digital camera, were initially strange and excluded. Undoubtedly, synthetic images produced with artificial intelligence will also be despised and ostracised for an extended period. They will strike fear into traditionalists. But no matter what, artificial intelligence will be the next big stop of art. Moreover, in the long run, just as the invention of the camera brought fresh air to painting, artificial intelligence will liberate many traditional art forms and enable them to find a new breath.
Esin Hamamcıoğlu
NFTIFY
This interview by Esin Hamamcıoğlu was first published in Turkish on nftify.com.tr in 2023 and translated into English by NFTIFY.uk .
