Prestigious auction house Christie’s recently hosted an art exhibition with a difference – the subject of this one was the impact of artificial intelligence on all aspects of the art world.
The 2019 Art+Tech Summit: The AI Revolution brought together thought leaders, industry experts, and artists for a series of lectures and panel discussions.
Produced in conjunction with Christie’s Education and presented by Hyundai, the summit facilitated lively conversation on emerging trends and predictions facing the future of our business and provided a platform for feedback and cultivating new ideas.
On the evening preceding the Summit, an exhibition of multimedia art featured the New York debut of Yugen, a moving-image artwork created by the filmmaker and artist Martha Fiennes, featuring actor Salma Hayek Pinault.
Yugen, made possible with generous support by Gucci, was on view June 26-28 at Christie’s Rockefeller Galleries.
The exhibition also included an immersive presentation of The Transfer Download, showcasing artworks in emerging technologies by six artists, curated by Kelani Nichole. Kevin Abosch and Breakfast also have new media artwork on view.
As the lead sponsor of the Summit, Hyundai displayed the Nexo fuel-cell SUV, the Kona Electric SUV, and the 2020 Sonata flagship sedan alongside Hyundai’s owned and licensed digital works by Quayola, Shinseungback Kimyonghun, Universal Everything, and WOW.
Interactive experiences included a digital waterfall with a curtain of IFR strings from floor to ceiling.
Among the topics addressed during Christie’s Art+Tech Summit were:
- the impact of AI on collecting and museums;
- the legal, ethical and social implications of AI;
- data analytics; and
- a discussion of trends and predictions about the future of this emerging technology.
Participating speakers were from Google, Hyundai ARTLAB, MIT Technology Review; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; New Museum, and many more. Artists include Robbie Barrat as well as Martha Fiennes.
Discussions about AI analytics led with the need for data in order to launch the next great chapter in art history and connoisseurship.
Issues at the forefront of AI considered the many ethical issues to solve as well as issues around the conservation of time-based media.
The potential to make the world’s culture accessible to anyone, anywhere, for free was considered among the benefits of AI technology, as well as its value in both the public sector and private sector.
AI art a commodity, how to quantify it, and the development of the secondary market was examined in a panel discussion.
