Fictional Figures: AI Paints Portraits of People You’ll Never Meet!

  • Editor
  • June 21, 2024
    Updated
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A groundbreaking art exhibition at the RNat5A gallery in Bathurst Street is turning heads with its unique blend of artificial intelligence and traditional artistry.

Curated by husband and wife duo Rob and Nick Carter, the exhibition, titled “This Person Does Not Exist,” features portraits of entirely fictitious individuals generated through AI technology.

The idea behind the show stems from the popular website This Person Does Not Exist, which creates hyper-realistic images of non-existent people.


Duration – 20 June 2024 – 19 September 2024
Times – Monday – Friday 10am – 6pm
Cost – Free
Venue – Rob and Nick Carter
Address – 5A Bathurst Street London W2 2SD, ,
Contact – +44(0)20 7402 1111 / studio@robandnick.com / www.robandnick.com/. 

These AI-generated images were the muse for over 20 artists, including the renowned royal portrait painter Jonathan Yeo. Yeo’s contribution, “Destination: Void, 2024,” alongside works by artists like Gavin Turk and the Carters themselves, highlights a bold new frontier in art.

Rob Carter emphasizes the importance of embracing AI in the art world, stating, “Artists have always used tools at their disposal to create artworks and I think we’d be ridiculous not to embrace AI and use it in any way that might help us in the future.” 

The exhibition challenges the traditional boundaries of portraiture by leveraging AI not as a replacement but as a foundational tool for artistic expression. The artists did not merely present the AI-generated images as they were.

Instead, they used them as a starting point, transforming them through their unique artistic processes. This method resulted in diverse and imaginative works that, in many cases, bear little resemblance to their AI origins.

AI professionals include this person does not exist in their list of the 7 wild websites to check out:


The use of AI in art has a rich history, dating back to early experiments like Harold Cohen’s AARON program in the 1970s, which generated abstract drawings autonomously.

Recently, AI-generated art gained mainstream attention by selling a portrait created by the collective Obvious at Christie’s in 2018. At the heart of this exhibition are Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), a sophisticated AI technology that involves two neural networks—the generator and the discriminator—working together to produce highly realistic images.

Rob said, “It’s an amazing tool, and we really shouldn’t run away from it. We should enjoy it and use it. It’s not going away, so we should embrace it and use it to our advantage rather than fight it.”

He added: “We’re having a portrait show of people that don’t exist. I don’t think that’s ever happened before.”

Among the notable pieces is a portrait of David Bowie, envisioned by artist Cyan Dee. The portrait imagines what the iconic musician, who passed away in 2016, would look like if he were alive today.

Like others in the exhibition, this piece invites viewers to ponder the intersection of reality and artificial creation.

Nick said all the invited artists “really jumped at the opportunity” and added that she desired it would start “a dialogue there for people to discuss and to get people thinking about what this actually means.”

Comparing AI-generated art to traditional forms highlights significant differences and unique advantages. Traditional art relies heavily on the artist’s skill and intuition.

In contrast, AI art involves a collaborative process where the machine provides a starting point or inspiration, allowing artists to explore new creative directions. This blend of human creativity and machine efficiency can lead to innovative outcomes, as evidenced by the diverse works in this exhibition.

The exhibition “This Person Does Not Exist” runs until September 19, offering a thought-provoking glimpse into the future of art and technology. Visitors are encouraged to explore the gallery and engage in dialogue about what it means to create and perceive art in an era increasingly influenced by AI.

This shows how to use This Person Does Not Exist to create random face images:


With interactive elements and diverse artistic interpretations, the exhibition provides a comprehensive look at how AI can enhance and transform traditional art forms. Integrating AI into the creative process, “This Person Does Not Exist” exemplifies the potential for new artistic horizons.

The RNat5A gallery’s showcase is not just a display of art but a conversation starter about the future of creativity, where human and machine collaboration becomes a powerful tool for innovation.

For more news and trends, visit AI News on our website.

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Dave Andre

Editor

Digital marketing enthusiast by day, nature wanderer by dusk. Dave Andre blends two decades of AI and SaaS expertise into impactful strategies for SMEs. His weekends? Lost in books on tech trends and rejuvenating on scenic trails.

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