Tours 
Artificial Intelligence is currently causing great division in the art world. While art students fear for their future, early adaptors are raving about the possibilities. Digital art collective SMACK deployed AI for an extraordinary visual feedback loop. The new facade artwork ‘Speculum Reversion’ is one of the first non-screen-based artworks in public spaces worldwide created with AI.
In 2016, Ton Meijdam, Thom Snels and Béla Zsigmond (SMACK) were first inspired by ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’, this enigmatic work created by painter Hieronymus Bosch over 500 years ago. It probably depicts a ‘paradise of convenience’, where mankind has no sense of danger and no knowledge of good and evil. For two years, SMACK worked on ‘Speculum’, an animated contemporary interpretation of the famous triptych that reflects on our identity and society through a wealth of visual narratives. It is on permanent display in Madrid, a stone’s throw from Bosch’s original.
Photo by Edwin Wiekens
Through the eyes of Bosch
Using AI, SMACK investigated whether a reverse interpretation is also possible: their work ‘Speculum’ through the eyes of Bosch. Digital image elements were generated from thousands of experiments. Numerous versions were created using prompts, which were then assembled into a whole as a collage. “You are overwhelmed by the scope, precision, quality and tremendous ease with which AI creates an image. At the same time, this can be daunting and frustrating when you consider how much effort it would take if you had to do it yourself,” Thom says.
Artificial Intelligence
Where other artists fear loss of originality, SMACK manages to use artificial intelligence in a way that complements their practice. Working with AI software is not easy, the trio points out: “Sometimes you think you have the technology under control, but then the programme suddenly takes a different direction. Like working with someone who suffers from acute amnesia and can’t remember what he did a minute ago.” But, they add: “On the contrary, this is also very entertaining and often inspiring, given the surprising results such unguided experiments produce.”
After the initial phase of surprise and frustration, SMACK is now focusing on using the new technology as an extension to express ideas faster and more efficiently: “We are in the midst of a major shift and we need to re-learn to relate ourselves to the tools we use. This once started with pencil and paper and, after many changes, has evolved to using a screen, a mouse, a keyboard and complicated 3D software.”
Photo by Edwin Wiekens
Facade canvas
Using advanced technology, the digital artwork was converted into a panoramic print no less than 53 metres wide and 8 metres high. The interpretation from medieval to contemporary and back to Bosch’s era means there is much to discover in the work. With the new images, AI also created new stories in which eras merge. Spectators can let their own imagination and interpretation run wild.
Like all artworks by Blind Walls Gallery, this work is also based on a special story from Breda. This is how Breda’s Nassau Engelbrecht II (1483 – 1538) probably commissioned the original artwork. He donated it to Hendrik III of Nassau and his wife Mencia de Mendoza. This couple brought enlightenment, via Breda, to the Low Countries. With this work of art, Breda continues to show its openness to innovation in applied technology and creativity.
Photo by Edwin Wiekens