Museums, AI-generated art, blockchain, and NFTs

Refik Anadol Studio, co-founded by Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkiliç in 2025, is launching an immersive AI and NFT art museum called DATALAND at The Grand LA, with a prime location in the Frank Gehry-designed project in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. .

DATALAND will deliver immersive AI art experiences by creating a new paradigm of artistic expression at the beginning of the digital age through next-level immersion with the scent of AI-powered galleries. As AI artist Refik Anadolu explained to me:

“We have not yet revealed the details of DATALAND’s artistic programming, but there will be many moments to share/display AI artists’ works physically and virtually so that people who cannot travel to Los Angeles can access AI artistic creations. NFTs of AI-powered artworks minted on a platform based on Ethereum and many other sustainable chains can be purchased for exciting artistic and cultural activities.“.

Rafik Anatolia Studio announced the launch of DATALAND during Climate Week in New York Citywhich is celebrated at the New York state level for the first time and coincides with the United Nations General Assembly interviewWhere world leaders come together to confront critical global challenges. These will be the inaugural exhibitions of DATALAND intended With Big Nature, an open source AI model that relies solely on nature data, to produce unprecedented immersive digital environmental artworks powered by AI. The studio initially presented such installations at the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and then at the United Nations in New York during the 2024 UN General Assembly to promote environmental awareness. Like UN Under-Secretary-General Melissa Fleming He agreed:

“Refik Anadol’s artworks are a testament to the beauty and fragility of our natural world. It is a clarion call to world leaders: we must harness the power of technology (artificial intelligence and non-fungible tokens), human ingenuity and power to galvanize action to protect our planet before it is too late.“.

The award-winning studio has been engaged by leading technology companies, leading researchers and cutting-edge thought leaders to produce projects that have been showcased in more than 70 cities spanning six continents and witnessed by millions of passionate fans. These exhibition venues include several United Nations Climate Change Conferences, the Museum of Modern Art, Center Pompidou Metz, Serpentine Galleries, National Gallery of Victoria, Venice Architecture Biennale, Hammer Museum, Arkin Museum, Casa Batllo, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Daejeon Art Museum, and Istanbul . Modern Museum. However, Studio Rafik Anatolia chose, as Rafik explained, “Los Angeles as the ideal city to launch DATALAND, a revolutionary, forward-thinking museum that supports the areas to which I have dedicated my career: art, science and technology, artificial intelligence research.” He continued:

“Since Los Angeles has long been a forward-thinking city in art, music, film, architecture and more, it’s only natural to open DATALAND here. Having a permanent space for us to develop a new model of what a museum can be – by merging human imagination with machine intelligence and the most advanced technology available – is the fulfillment of one of my biggest dreams. To do this in a building designed by one of my heroes, Frank Gehry, is almost unbelievable“.

DATALAND will use millions of images and other records from partner museums, including the Smithsonian and the Natural History Museum in London, to create its installations. “We already have three major cooperation projects with museums underway, and we are very confident of uniting efforts around the world,” Rafiq added.

The history of AI art, NFTs, and museums

Christiane Paul, curator of digital art at the Whitney Museum, who is “looking forward to learning more about DATALAND,” detailed the history of AI art at the Rhode Island School of Design’s groundbreaking “Debates in AI” symposium, held from 11-12 April. 2024, which invited artists around the world. She explained that the art of artificial intelligence has a wonderful history that combines technology and creativity, and it continues to evolve, pushing the boundaries of what is possible at the intersection of technology and creativity.

Christiane Paul, curator of digital art at the Whitney Museum, discusses the history of artificial intelligence art

Early beginnings: 1950s-1970s. The roots of AI art can be traced back to early experiments with computer-generated art, where artists and computer scientists were involved cooperated To create visual and abstract compositions using early computer algorithms. One notable example from this era is captured by a Whitney Museum exhibition curated by Christian Paul with David Lisbon tracing the development of Harold Cohen. Aaronthe first artificial intelligence program designed to create drawings and paintings. Aaron was the first Shown In 1972 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Advances in algorithms: 1980s-2000s. During this period, algorithms and advances in computing power allowed for more complex and diverse artistic outputs, and AI art began to gain recognition in academic and artistic circles.

The city of Los Angeles, which will become home to DATALAND, served as the foundation for the Gray Area Foundation, a cultural incubator with a mission to cultivate, sustain and implement cross-disciplinary collaborations, in 2002 to integrate art, technology, science and artificial intelligence. and the humanities – towards a more equitable and regenerative future. This institution Move Its headquarters moved to San Francisco in 2005.

The Deep Learning Revolution: 2010. The advent of deep learning has brought about major changes with generative adversarial networks and other machine learning techniques enabling the creation of highly sophisticated and realistic works of art. AI art has begun to be offered in NFT form in galleries and museums and auctioned off at prominent auction houses, raising questions about creativity and authorship.

In 2014, digital artist Kevin McCoy released the first-ever NFT art.

Four years later, in 2018, Christie’s art auction house became the first auction house ever to offer her works Artificial intelligence artwork For sale. Christie’s also hosted the first Art + Technology Summit on the topic of blockchain. In June 2019, the second edition focused on artificial intelligence and art. Since then, blockchain, NFTs, and artificial intelligence have become hot topics in the art world, intersecting unexpectedly. At the helm is digital curator Christian Paul, Whitney Museum become One of the first collectors of NFTs starting in 2018.

Mainstream accreditation: 2020 The increasing availability of artistic AI tools to the general public has democratized the creation of AI-generated images. This era has also seen discussions about NFTs, the market bubble and bust, copyright, the impact on traditional artists, and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence in art.

In Germany, the Smart Museum – a practice-based research and development project at ZKM| Art and Media Center Karlsruhe and Deutsches Museum — Cannes Supported Through the Digital Culture Program of the German Federal Cultural Foundation in 2020. It explores new paths for museum communication and awareness Calls The museum integrates current AI technologies, making it a place for experimentation and experimentation, and a social space where art, science, technology and public discourse come together. One of the best-selling AI-generated NFT artists on display at ZKM is a program called Botto, the brainchild of computer engineers and a German artist named Mario Klingemann in 2021 that creates AI-generated NFTs. Today, Botto has created more than 75 NFTs I was born Over $3 million in revenue.

In New York City, the Museum of Modern Art – before it was held for the first time ever Artificial Intelligence Art Gallery Sponsored by Michelle Ko,Unsupervised“ By Refik Anadol – Become a beneficiary of a major new endowment established by the William S. Paley Foundation to support MoMA’s ambitious goals in digital media and technology and to provide new AI Art/NFT acquisitions. Henry Kissinger, President of the William S. Bali at that time:

“I know how much my friend Bill Paley cared about MoMA and with what dedication he devoted himself to its development. Through this initiative, the Foundation will respect his intention and continue his vision for the Museum of Modern Art.“

However, MoMA has adopted a cautious approach to NFTs so far. Other than contributing data to algorithmically generated works by artist Refik Anadolu, and announcing in October 2023 that he had acquired “Unsupervised” for his permanent collection, he has not included With other Artificial Intelligence or NFT projects.

In Singapore, curated by Deborah Lim of the Museum of Arts and Sciences and guest curator Clara Chee Wei Peh, “Notes from the ether“Last year was an exciting and timely exhibition that provided a glimpse into the future of digital art through the works of 20 artists: Memo Akten, Burak Arikan, Botto, Mitchell F Chan, DEAFBEEF Simon Denny, Harm van den Dorpel, Sarah Friend, Rimbawan Gerelia, Holly Herndon Matthew Dryhurst, Tyler Hobbs and Dandelion Westjo + Kaby, Larva Labs, Jonas Lund, Ninad Kothawadi, Sarah Meuhas, Rhea Myers, Aaron Penny, Alwan Wang, Emily Shih These artists work with the emerging technologies of non-fungible tokens and generative artificial intelligence to push the boundaries of what is Art and what it can be.

The future of AI art and NFTs in museums

Undoubtedly, over the past 40 years, the use of AI-generated art has been on the rise, becoming more popular over the past 10 years with the tokenization of art via NFTs, According to To the Academy of Animation Arts. As Vilas Dhar, President of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, said, He explained:

“AI is not just a tool for innovation, it is a force that can reshape the way we see our planet, reconnecting us with the beauty and fragility of nature in ways never before possible. Refik Anatoly’s fascinating vision allows us to use technology (AI Art & NFTs) to engage the senses and spark a deeper emotional connection to our natural world“.

During this year, many museums and more Over 100 “immersive” organizations around the world are displaying/purchasing AI and NFT art at scale to massive audiences to showcase the marriage of human imagination and machine intelligence, which includes Seattle NFT Museum, Guggenheim Museum, Mercer Laboratories, Museum of Art and Light, Buffalo AKG Museum of Art, Pompidou Centre, Tate ModernArt PST: The Collision of Art and Science, which detained In over 60 shows throughout Southern California and many more.

Magda Schon, co-founder of Postmasters Gallery in New York City, who works with premier NFT artist Kevin McCoy, has been selling AI-generated digital artwork to museums like MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of Art. American Art for over 20 years. she He agrees With Vilas and Melissa’s feelings about Rafiq’s influential AI artwork:

“People don’t want to stop watching Refik Anatolian’s AI work when they sit in front of him. Rafiq’s work is having an impact, but whether this serves as a catalyst for the creation of the massive field of generative art for AI and NFT sales is a big question.“

Digital art has been collecting since it has been around, but its widespread adoption is still at an early stage. Tokenizing art via non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has helped the digital art world and the traditional art world integrate, leading to growing interest from museums, immersive institutions, collectors, auction houses, NFT marketplaces, and galleries. The first NFT artist, Kevin McCoy, who created NFT art in 2014, is optimistic and supports the Refik Museum, AI Art, and NFT Initiative. He highlighted:

“I am encouraged by Anatolia’s announcement of Dataland. It leads by example with its “Ethical AI” initiative and commitment to showcasing and preserving artificial intelligence and digital art that the museum represents. In this context, the provenance provided by NFTs and blockchain-based records, in general, can play a central role. This will be an important next step in expanding the use of this technology“.