DATA-MORPHOSIS
DATA-MORPHOSIS - is an ongoing augmented reality (AR) print series using machine learning (ML). For phase one of this series I chose StyleGAN which utilizes Style Transfer - letting me combine features from two or more images. This improved network allows for displaced high-level attributes and control over the synthesis. Trained on an image dataset of butterflies that I compiled online, a preference to the morphed butterflies were chosen from the neural net output as frames. From there I created individual AR experiences for each print. The AR is triggered by the print which then transports you to a world synthesized by artificial intelligence. When viewed through ARTIVIVE, which is available for free on your Apple or Android smart device, I invite you to explore the metaphors through your handheld screens.
For Dyscorpia 2.1 I will be collaborating with multidisciplinary artist Shaun Lodestar from Calgary. We will be showcasing phase two of this ongoing AR print series called: "DATA-MORPHOSIS."
At the heart of DATA-MORPHOSIS are state of the art image generators that have spent thousands of hours studying massive open source image datasets of human faces and classical artwork. The resulting neural network is capable of automatically generating photorealistic but nonexistent images. Extensive reworking of the code that controls these pieces combined with post processing the work to reflect our desired aesthetics, these neural networks are presented in a way that grants insight into how computers perceive us versus how we perceive ourselves.
Notfortheireyes
Notfortheireyes is Evan Pearce: VJ, New Media Artist, and Creative Director. Evan has performed all over North America and Europe, including Nuit Blanche Edmonton, Berlin Psych Fest, Sled Island, New Forms Festival, Levitation Vancouver and MUTEK San Francisco: NEXUS Experience. In 2018, he designed the live visuals for Gus Dapperton and Beshken’s North American tour, travelling with them as their live VJ from coast to coast. Evan is constantly creating new niches within his art and productions; from music videos to large scale visual installations.
Shaun Lodestar
Shaun Lodestar is a multidisciplinary artist based in Calgary, Alberta. After gaining recognition developing visual accompaniment to his music project, HomeSick, Lodestar has spent the last three years recruited by international music producers, labels and club residencies to develop meticulously tailored visual languages. Picking from skills in computer graphics, typography and illustration, his visual art output is hyperrealistic and refined, yet frequently features patina and evocative nostalgic tones - presenting gracefully-aged and occult relics of a near-future past.
As HomeSick, he produces enrapturing electronic music that injects avant-garde and eclectic flavours into established genres. Classically-trained yet interested in the cutting-edge, Lodestar’s multifaceted productions have earned him support from large organizations like Boiler Room, MUTEK and Red Bull Music Academy.
Most recently, Lodestar has turned his attention and practice towards machine learning and artificial intelligence to augment his works. By leveraging novel technologies to create impactful and polarizing sights and sounds, he hopes to shock and delight observers witnessing a direct link from his brain to reality - a connection cobbled together using technologies never intended to interact with each other. The result is a suite of creative works that are most at home in the uncanny valley.