ART AI sells works of art made by clever computers. Art made using artificial intelligence is normally expensive and hard to come by, but ART AI believe that everybody should be able to own a piece and sell the works at very reasonable prices.
With the categories “humans”, “flowers”, “nature”, “abstract”, “surreal”, and “collaborations with humans”, there’s something for everyone. Unsurprisingly, it’s the abstract stuff that looks most like it’s been done by a real person, which is not good news for human abstract artists.
The portraits are maybe their most interesting output. Some of the faces look like when you catch a moving dog in a panorama photo and they get compressed. Some figures seem to be using that Face Swap filter you used to be able to get on Instagram, and quite a lot look like they have a Habsburg Jaw from aristocratic inbreeding. Some are quite good and you wouldn’t look twice if you passed them in a Dutch Renaissance wing of a museum.
I spoke to Eyal who is the technical founder of ART AI. He tells us about how the algorithms work, how AI-generated art will change curation, and, most importantly, that this isn’t the end for human art. Part of me feels like he might have been a robot the whole time.
Q: First thing’s first, what is ART AI?
ART AI: Art AI is the World’s largest gallery of AI generated artworks. Unlike other galleries, we work on democratising access to AI Art in particular and art in general. This goal impacts our curation, marketing, pricing and really everything we do.
Q: How does it work?
ART AI: We use numerous algorithms based on artificial intelligence create a huge variety of artworks in different styles. The data selection, preparation and algorithm training process takes months. Once that’s done, Our team of curators go over the artworks generated by the AI, build different collections, and name each of the artworks using a different AI we created for this purpose. We upload the new collections several times a week. When someone purchases an artwork, it is sent to production in a facility in their area, and removed from the website. We only ever sell an artwork once.
Q: Why might ART AI the future of art consumption and collection?
ART AI: I think there are two parts to this – firstly, this is an interesting new aesthetic that many people seem to like and be excited about. Our ability to merge and styles of art in original ways is giving birth to really interesting artworks, and we are just starting. The rate of development of the technology is really astounding.
Secondly, and I think this is a key part – we are able to engage and connect with a new audience. We have already sold thousands of unique artworks, and our typical collector is young, many of whom never considered collecting art realistic.
By combining art and technology, setting the price at the affordable end of the spectrum, and communicating with our audience via social networks, we are able to appeal to a very large audience of people who are excited about art, but never felt apart of the conversation. We encourage them to discover the joy of collecting art, and arguing about it!
The results are amazing, thousands of people from all over the world already own our artworks and take part in our vibrant community of art lovers.
Q: Are there any dangers/disadvantages to it?
ART AI: Our art is controversial, but really all good art is. Some people reading this interview might strongly disagree with what we are doing. In fact, our community is full of arguments regarding the elements defining art and whether ART AI is art or not (we think it is).
We are also criticised for taking work from artists, but nothing could be further from the truth. I think we are creating work for artists. People who start collecting ART AI often widen their interest and start buying human made art as well. Moreover, we collaborate with artists in multiple ways. We even have a section in the gallery devoted to collaboration with human artists. I encourage every artist who reads this to get in touch and discuss ways we can work together!
Q: Is this the end for human artists?
ART AI: Definitely not! ART AI is meant to make art accessible to new audiences, not to replace artists all together. Our AI works by learning the works of human artists, and it needs human ingenuity to continue learning and develop new styles. If anything, This is a new opportunity for artists. We have multiple models in which we share revenue with artists, and these collaborations are incredibly important to us, from creating pieces together with artists and selling them as limited edition prints, to paying artists for the right to use their work to train our algorithms.
We are not here to replace artists, we are here to make the joy of art accessible to everyone, and we think can only be achieved with technology.
©2020 ART AI
Verity Babbs is a History of Art graduate from the University of Oxford, artist consultant, writer, and podcast host. Her written work focuses on London’s contemporary art scene
