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The conversation, initiated by the INEMEA Association, in collaboration with CYLAND, brings together artists, poets, and cultural theorists to focus on the role of the artist in facing the challenges posed by AI as a new subject and creator of art.

 

Chaired/Moderated by:
LASER JERUSALEM / Galina Bleikh and Daria Kesler

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EVENT INFO

When: 2.7.2024/1:00 pm/ (UTC +3) Time zone,

Where: Location: hybrid event: Jerusalem “The President Hotel” Exhibition hall and ZOOM.

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EVENT CONTEXT

In the era of rapid AI development, artists have a unique chance to rethink and redefine their roles and methods. Whether they view AI as a competitor, assistant, co-author, or synergistic partner, it is crucial to explore and adapt to new technologies while staying true to their artistic vision and human experience.
 

Kirill Azernyi and Eugeny Nikitin present their collaborative project "Whispered Commands" which was designed as a textual/visual dialogue where voice recording and AI-generated images both play major roles. The project's focus is on how human agency and artistic communication emerge through these different media.
 

Galina Bleikh discusses her project "The Tumbleweed Cities," created in collaboration with AI. The project's name serves as a metaphor for artificial digital cities generated by the world of illusions, disconnected from geographical, political, and socio-cultural contexts. These digital nomads, with AI-created landscapes, resemble real, recognizable cities yet remain unreal. As internet surfers and digital nomads, we inhabit these Tumbleweed Cities, drifting freely in the digital realm like tumbling bubbles with individual coordinate axes.
 

Dr. Lev Manovich will discuss selected ideas from his new book “Artificial Aesthetics: Generative AI, Art and Visual Media.” The book analyzes generative media using ideas from history of art and media, psychology and philosophy of art, and digital culture.

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LASER Talks program short summary

– Galina Bleikh. Introduction.

– Daria Kesler. Presentation of the speakers.
– Eugeny Nikitin and Kirill Azernyi. Presentation of the project "Whispered Commands."

– Galina Bleikh. Presentation of the project "Tumbleweed cities.”

– Dr. Lev Manovich. Selected ideas from his new book “Artificial Aesthetics: Generative AI, Art and Visual Media.”

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Moderator:

Daria Kesler
Israel

Cross-disciplinary researcher and artist. Works with human and machine-generated texts, sounds, documentaries, scents, and video art. Daria is interested in using modern technologies and science to spread empathy towards all species. She wants to explore new ways of co-living between technology, human, plants, and animals. Education: Master of Art&Science (Inovice), ITMO, Russia, Major studies in Hybrid (Technological and Bio) Art.

 

Speakers:

Kirill Azerniy
Israel
Kirill Azernyi (born 1990) – writer, poet, translator, publisher. Works published in Russian-language literary media (Ural, Novyi Mir, Flagi, Artikulatsia, etc.) and in English-language literary media (Flatbush Review, The Minute Review, Gone Lawn, etc.). Hosts a digital arts site: https://illitera.com Two books of prose published in Russia Editor of samizdat magazine Zdes (2015-2020). Member of the Metajournal editorial board Participant of International Writing Program (USA, University of Iowa, 2015). Participant of Electronic Literature Organization conferences (online, 2020, 2021). Participant of the IX St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum (Russia, 2021). Participant of SlovoNova Free Culture Forum (Tel Aviv, 2023). Examples of digital works: Font. A Novel for Formatting (Cirk “OLIMP” TV, 2020): https://www.cirkolimp-tv.ru/articles/901/shrift-roman-dlya-verstki-v-powerpoint Amateur. A “bubblegum” novel (Vispo, 2024), in collaboration with Jim Andrews: https://vispo.com/guests/kirill/amateur/index.html
 

Eugeny Nikitin

Israel

Eugeny Nikitin (born 1981) – poet, writer, AI-artist. Poetry books include “The Invisible Lens” (M., 2009), “Stand-up Lyrics” (M., 2015), “Brackets” (M., 2022). Stories collections include “The Eastern Seventeen” (M., 2011, in collaboration with Alena Churbanova), “About Dad” (M., 2019).
A coordinator of the poetry project "Making Words" at the 53d Venice Biennial (2009). Founder of "Metajournal" – an online medium of contemporary poetry. Exhibitions: “AI Has a Soul”, SlovoNovo Forum, Tel Aviv, 2023 “Eugeny Nikitin, Konstantin Eremenko”, SlovoNovo Forum, Lustica Bay, 2023 “Vladimir Sorokin. Blue Lard – Cancel Russian Culture”, Berlin, 2023, Paris, New York, 2024 (not credited).

 

Galina Bleikh
Israel

A multidisciplinary artist. Her creative expertise spans a rich spectrum of artistic domains, encompassing AI, 3D modeling, AR and VR, bio-art, generative art, and more. At the heart of her artistic pursuit lies a fascination with the profound synergy between the emerging artificial reality and its transformative interaction with human experience through art. Galina's creative endeavors extend to collaborative projects, notably in partnership with Elena Serebryakova since 2011. Together, these two artists have created the visionary concept of their unique creative approach “The Hybrid Neural Network Art” (http://hnn-art.com). Galina graduated from the Stieglitz St. Petersburg State Academy of Art and Industry (MA). Since 1993, lives in Jerusalem. Galina is a cofounder of the INEMEA Association for Art, Culture, and Education and the INEMEA Jerusalem Art & Science lab. Since 2024, Galina becomes a host of Leonardo ISAST Laser Talks Jerusalem. Galina takes part in many exhibitions and conferences. Among them: Jerusalem Biennale (curator and participating artist, 2023–2024), ArtPlatform-On, South Korea (2022), The CICA Museum of Modern Art, South Korea (group and solo, 2021), NordArt, Germany (2019), Haifa Museum of Art, Israel (2018), LA Art Show USA (2013), Artco France Gallery, Paris (solo, 2012), Art Asia Miami (2011), etc. (https://bleikh.art)

 

Dr. Lev Manovich
USA

Lev Manovich is an artist, writer, and one of the most influential theorists of digital culture worldwide. He is currently a Presidential Professor of Computer Science at the City University of New York's Graduate Center and the Director of the Cultural Analytics Lab. After studying painting, architecture, and filmmaking, Manovich began using computers to create digital art in 1984. He has played a key role in creating four new research fields: new media studies (1991-), software studies (2001-), cultural analytics (2007-) and AI aesthetics (2017-). Since 1991, he has published 190 articles that have been translated into 35 different languages and reprinted over 800 times. He authored and edited 16 books, including Artificial Aesthetics, Cultural Analytics, Instagram and Contemporary Image, Software Takes Command, and The Language of New Media, which has been called "the most provocative and comprehensive media history since Marshall McLuhan." His projects have been exhibited in 14 solo and 122 international group exhibitions at many prestigious institutions, such as the Institute of Contemporary Art (London), the Centre Pompidou, The Shanghai Biennale, and The ZKM | Center for Art and Media. (http://manovich.net)