OBVIOUS | La Baronne de Belamy

Generative Adversarial Network print on canvas, 2018, signed with GAN model loss function in ink by the publisher, from La Famille de Belamy, a series of eleven unique images, published by Obvious Art, Paris, in the original giltwood frame, accompanied by the Certificate of Authenticity in Blockchain

Acquired directly from the artist collective by the present owner 

This work is in excellent condition overall. Framed in artist's frame.
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We, Hugo Caselles-Dupré, Pierre Fautrel and Gauthier Vernier, created Obvious motivated by a wish to explore and share the different ways machine-learning algorithms can catalyze our natural creativity. Through the replication of human behaviors in a creative context, we see algorithms as a fascinating tool to help dig into and better understand the different forces at stake in the process of innovation. Through creating complex, unprecedented artwork and by collaborating with the most influential tastemakers in today's visual society, our art collective wishes to shed light on the emerging tools increasingly available for all types of creatives.  We believe that a new generation of creators will rise, one that will know how to best build and manage algorithms as part of the fundamental innovation process. We also want to promote a new level of collaboration between artists and their tools, where the hands of the artist and the machine are joined in the search for a new type of aesthetic. The first stage of this democratization process is the demystification of the word Artificial Intelligence, still perceived by many as involving features that are yet exclusive to the brain, such as self-consciousness and intention. By staying up to date with the latest research, we wish to reduce the gap between our beliefs and the knowledge is currently being achieved in machine learning. 

Science and art have always been complimentary. We can observe examples of this symbiosis everywhere from the geometric models that helped artists create exacting perspective in their work, to  chemical development of new pigments that allowed fading oil paints to maintain their intensity, and the invention of the camera that multiplied the facility of access to visual creation. We are committed to advancing this dynamic by exploring different types of art through the lens of a set of algorithms, thus reconciling the old and the new, and ultimately promoting a sense of relentless entrepreneurism.

Technology has always been at the service of human ambitions and limitations. The technology itself doesn’t necessarily have any impact on our society, nor on our lives. It is the way humans use it that will shape the future of our society. This is why Obvious focuses on accompanying the emergence of benevolent and harmless ideas, by demystifying artificial intelligence, promoting alternative uses for it, and unveiling its true creative potential.

“La Famille de Belamy”  

In this first series, we created a Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) algorithm that took on the task of creating an entirely new picture of our ancestors. Aggregating its inspiration from a large number of human-made portraits throughout the past centuries, the algorithm then generated the eleven fictional portraits of the “Famille de Belamy." The fact that these artworks were created with an artificial intelligence opens new perspectives in terms of interpretation and speculation at the intersection of art and technlogy. We believe that everyone has the right to understand the intentions of the algorithm on their own terms. The artworks are printed on canvas, presented in a gilded wood frame and hand-signed with the mathematical formula that served to create it.  



This work is accompanied by a certificate issued by the artist collective.