2023-11-16 18:27:20
Cologne “Pulse” is the name of the picture by the Berlin artist Markus Selg – and if you’ve been on the Internet lately, the look might seem familiar: Forms that seem familiar at first glance melt into the impossible. An image that looks so realistic that it is already unrealistic – artificial intelligence is at play here! As a work of art with the support of a clever computer, it hangs pretty much alone on the wall at Art Cologne. While other industries are shocked by the new possibilities of AI, the art world remains conspicuously calm and stable.
“Painting is very, very present right now,” says Anke Schmidt from the Federal Association of German Galleries and Art Dealers. “That’s definitely the trend.” This means that the highest prices can still be achieved with good, old paintings. “Infinity Nets” by the Japanese Yayoi Kusama is available for around 2.4 million euros, and a Picasso oil painting (“Le peintre et son modèle”) is available for 3.75 million euros.
At 12,000 euros, the “Pulse,” which was created with the help of AI, is a bargain. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” says gallery owner Schmidt, referring to the new genre.” “But artists will resort to it more and more,” suspects gallery owner Guido Baudach, who is exhibiting “Pulse” at Art Cologne. The whole AI thing isn’t such a big step. It all sounds brand new, he says. Walter Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Technical Reproducibility” will soon be 100 years old. And photographers also use a device – and the device delivers something. This is also how artists like Selg used artificial intelligence: as a tool.
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Classic painting with the computer
“I would speak of “collaboration,” says Baudach, referring to the artist-computer relationship. Art Cologne boss Daniel Hug is even reminded of the Renaissance. Masters often only painted the details there. Assistants then took care of the rest. The Cologne gallery owner Falko Alexander, who specializes in digital art, sees it similarly. “This is actually a classic painting – with the computer,” he says about the works on display at his stand, which are created digitally but without the help of AI.
But computer support or not, there are no screens hanging at the Digital Cracks stand either, but real pictures on paper or canvas on the wall. “I think we can’t quite get past this feel of the old,” says Alexander. The principle of uniqueness also plays a role here. The first question many buyers ask is: “Where is this signed?” says Alexander.
In recent months, sensational images such as the deceptively real-looking AI fake of Pope Francis in a hip white down jacket have shocked people: artificial intelligence is that good, some people realized. But while there are arguments in journalism or political communication about what AI is allowed to do and what it isn’t, the debate in the art world is very quiet. It’s still in its infancy, says Anke Schmidt from the Federal Association of Galleries. According to gallery owner Baudach, the fact that this is not discussed as intensively as in other areas could be due to the fact that in art it is more difficult to take someone’s work away.
There is a little provocation
At Art Cologne, which is open until Sunday, classic formats such as painting continue to be in the foreground. On Thursday, art lovers stroll past the monumental painting “Counter Jumpers” by the British artist Lucy McKenzie or an oil painting by Alice Neel (2 million US dollars). The category “Art under 5000 euros” also includes comparatively affordable works.
“Galleries are the real discoverers of new talent,” says gallery owner Schmidt. The digital artists around Falko Alexander have allowed themselves a little provocation: a computer arm connected to a Macbook continuously draws pictures during the art fair – and also scribbles the artist’s signature “Arno Beck”.
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