Infinites AI+IRL+WOW
The Infinites AI+IRL+WOW is over a month old, and we went from an Art project utilizing AI and On-Chain generative tools to an experimental ecosystem.
Infinites AI was created with the idea of overlapping the work of a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), with an on-chain Generative operation. The intersection of the two processes is resolved in an engaging simulation diluting an AI-generated image into a digital canvas.
Here the notion of time is in question. The GAN was trained by looking at thousands of paintings dating from a span of hundreds of years, and creating digital paintings based on that training. The aesthetics of the results are stunning: an amalgamation of the original images and the Baconian aesthetic of a GAN. The compositions are very contemporary, yet atemporal with the color palettes.
When dealing with blockchain, we deal with time, and an on-chain generated artwork has a dated record of the blockchain imprinted in its aesthetics. Thus, for Infinites AI, the notion of time is central as the protagonist of the artwork. This is why the on-chain generated layer dilutes the images, as if all the original paintings that the GAN learned from, which are long since dried, are now malleable again, forever.
Infinites AI, are Real-Time Simulations that are executed by a program stored in the Smart Contract. Its format is squared to fit best in the current standard NFT platforms. However, it is not suitable for being displayed and exhibited using most screens. Furthermore, for Infinites In Real Life (IRL), we added another layer that dilutes the GAN-generated image. This creates a liquid surface of a larger body, inviting the viewer to dive into an immersive experience.
Infinites IRL are formatted with a 9:16 ratio, intended to be displayed full screen in large displays and/or projectors. They would fit within an NFT platform UI but letting them play with the surrounding space when they become more present. For that purpose, we built a viewer on infinites.ai, letting users do these installations efficiently. This gesture led many owners to install their Infinites IRL in private and Public Spaces. An example is the recent exhibition in Times Square, New York, where a series of Infinites were exhibited on the Nasdaq Screen.
Infinites are programmed Art and utilize the blockchain as a medium. It is not just a real-time simulation but a project intended to evolve over time, along with the community of owners. After AI was minted, we developed infinites.ai to build a decentralized interface to the immersive experience. We are adding tools to explore the collection and visualize the pieces in larger setups. In addition, we are working on allowing trading and additional features to be discussed with the community in the future.
We see on-chain artistic processes as a continuation of conceptual operations throughout art history. Our randomizer gives us inputs that our smart contract utilizes at the time of minting to make decisions, such as the selection of the Base and the parameters of the simulation. This artistic operation works within the framework of conceptual and digital art. When we look at Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line (Best of Thirty-Six Attempts), — a photography project created by John Baldessari in which he threw three balls in the air in hopes that a snapshot might catch them aloft and aligned. He is working on an operation of chance is in a way similar to the random minting processes at work.
Other references to on-chain operations and conceptual art can be made, such as the process of “burning.” This is when Baldessari comes back again. At one point in his career, he decided to burn all his paintings and transform the ashes into cookies.
Invoking Baldessari, and to continue with this game of references to conceptual art using programmable art, we started to consider burning pieces from Infinites AI + IRL, and create new ones from their ashes. Within this premis, the Infinites ecosystem will evolve from AI+IRL into other configurations. Always exploring the possibilities of the blockchain medium, along with experimenting with image-making digital operations.
White on White: WOW
Over the past years, my works has been strongly influenced by conceptual art, and post-conceptualism in particular. Generally speaking, in conceptual art, the concept involved in the work prevails over more common aesthetics and material interests.
In Infinites AI’s collection, the base White on White directly references conceptualism, pointing to the White Paintings that Robert Rauschenberg made in 1951. The randomizer built on the Smart Contract assigned this base to 17 Infinites AI, around 3% of the body of work. An example of a White on White is the Infinites AI #505.
Following our interest in conceptual artistic operations and experimentation in the NFT space, we are working on a new body of work called WOW (White on White), a derivative of the White on White Bases. Current owners of a White on White will have the chance to burn their NFT and mint a new NFT that belongs to the new artifacts.
Conceptual operations also question the context where the artwork lives. Earlier, with IRL, we attempted to have the NFTs playing with the surrounding physical space. On the other hand, WOW is looking for another expansion, this time into the metaverse. For that purpose, we are designing a container: An immersive and virtual space that could be used as a capsule for the Infinites ecosystem. And this will be a derivative of the WOW pieces.
At the moment, were are working on the Front End of the new application, that will be located in the future at wow.infinites.ai.
The WOW burning operation is just one of a number of evolutions we are planning for the Infinites community. Stay tuned for future updates and more conceptual musings.
