Alexander Reben
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Selected work / 2023

Speak Art Into Life

Visitors speak an imagined artwork into existence and add it to an evolving collective image.

Year
2023
Medium
Receipt printer and paper, screen, microphone, computer, micro controller, software
Filed under
Artificial intelligence ↗Interaction ↗Generative ↗
Speak Art Into Life — TED 2023. Photo: Jason Redmond / TED.
About the work

Visitors describe an imagined artwork into a microphone. An AI turns the spoken input into an artwork description, and a second AI generates four visual interpretations for the participant to choose from.

The selected image is displayed, and the participant receives a printed receipt containing the artwork's text, its image, and a QR code for downloading it.

Each selection is blended with the artwork made by the previous participant. The resulting strip grows with successive contributions, connecting the participants' ideas in an evolving visual and linguistic exquisite corpse.

Speak Art Into Life debuted at TED 2023 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Exhibitions

Speak Art Into Life — installation view. Photo: Yubo Dong / ofstudio photography.
Speak Art Into Life — detail. Photo: Yubo Dong / ofstudio photography.
Whispers of Avian Blossoms in Orbit, Voyage of the Celestial Alchemist, and Speak Art Into Life — installation view. Photo: Yubo Dong / ofstudio photography.
Speak Art Into Life — installation at the Crocker Art Museum

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