The return of speculum spreads across Madrid's parking lots
and A.I. Although it is currently causing great division in the art world and students are worried about their future, early adopters are very enthusiastic about new possibilities. Digital art collective SMACK collaborates with Blind Walls Gallery to demonstrate the potential of AI in unrestricted creative expression with Speculum Reversion. The trio leveraged his AI into a special visual feedback loop, presenting one of his first works without an AI-generated screen in public spaces around the world.
Several meters wide, this animated work is a modern interpretation of Hieronymus Bosch's famous trilogy, The Garden of Earthly Delights, reflecting our identity and society through a rich visual story. The façade artwork is on permanent display in Breda, Madrid, in close proximity to the Bosch original.
All images courtesy of SMACK
Smack combines medieval and modern images
2016, Ton Meydam, Tom Snells, Vera Zsigmond – of team behind the smack – They were first inspired by the enigmatic works of Hieronymus Bosch, created over 500 years ago. “The Garden of Earthly Delights'' depicts a surreal “paradise'' where humanity has no sense of danger and no knowledge of good and evil. With the help of his AI, SMACK spent his two years investigating whether the reverse interpretation was also possible, culminating in his Speculum Reversion.
Digital image elements were generated from thousands of experiments and numerous versions were created using prompts combined as a collage. Using advanced technology, the digital artwork was transformed into a panoramic print measuring over 53 meters wide and 8 meters high. Interpreting it from the Middle Ages to modern times and back to Bosch's time, we find that there is much to discover in this work. AI also creates new stories that blend different eras, inviting audiences to unleash their own imagination and interpretations.
Blind Walls Gallery and SMACK present Speculum Reversion
AI as a potential creative tool
As other artists worry about the loss of originality, SMACK is beginning to incorporate AI to complement their practice. “Even when you think you've got the technology under control, the program can suddenly go in a different direction. It's like working with someone who suffers from acute memory loss and can't remember what they did a minute ago. Thing.” But the trio added: “It's very interesting and often inspirational, given the surprising results that such unguided experiments can yield.” '
We were amazed by the range, accuracy, quality, and sheer ease with which AI creates images. At the same time, it can be daunting and frustrating to think about how much effort it would take if you had to do this yourself. ” Tom Snells says.
One of the first screen-free creations generated by AI in public spaces around the world
An animation that is a modern interpretation of Hieronymus Bosch's “The Garden of Earthly Delights”
Interpretations range from the Middle Ages to modern times to the time of Bosch