“...the significant part of the environment consists mostly of strings of artifacts called "symbols" that we receive through eyes and ears in the form of written and spoken language and that we pour out into the environment as I am now doing by mouth or hand. The laws that govern these strings of symbols, the laws that govern the occasions on which we emit and receive them, the determinants of their content are all consequences of our collective artifice. “
The sciences of the artificial / Herbert A. Simon. 1996
Nestled within the spaces of Radiona, Art and Technology Center in Zagreb, my artistic residency unfolds as a tapestry of tensions, dialogues, and silent explorations. They touch upon the nuances of generative processes, cognitive entanglements, the transient nature of migrating bodies, the omnipresent eye of surveillance capitalism, and the ever-evolving dynamics of queer embodiments. This melange forms the bedrock for the hyper-plastic connections: "Morphs, Migrations, Digressions and Palindromes."
Here is a playlist with with the AI videos that I have been creating and repurposing during the the residency (i will keep adding):
Generative Imagination Amidst Tensions
Venturing into the realms of Generative AI, I have been confronted with palpable tensions between its imaginative potential and the dialectics of words versus images, surveillance systems, and the fluidity that characterizes migrating and queer bodies. These bodies, emblematic of fluid identities, meander through words, signs, imagery, and ephemeral moments, echoing cognitive fabulations in a backdrop resonant with continuous tensions. These AI models, in their multiplicity, emerge as distinctly queer, eschewing monolithic definitions.AI models are queer.
Transient (morphs) Bodies, Queer Embodiments, and the Techno-Utopian Mirage
Migrating bodies are captured mid-motion, pixels perpetually transitioning, and consistently morphing across borders, orientations, and states of being. These entities, with their queer and nomadic un-essence, challenge static identities and elude the overarching reach of surveillance and control (my fantasy), charting their own paths amidst techno-utopian narratives and the engulfing waves of cognitive capitalism.
Cognitive Capitalism and Attention Adiction
The beguiling yet ensnaring universe of social media, characterized by its relentless quest for attention, the reign of influencers, and the unabashed commodification of data/everything. This domain, with its contemporary digital idiosyncrasies and shadowed by the omnipresent cognitive capitalism, is engaged with, all under the thematic umbrella of “Morphs, Migrations, Digressions and Palindromes”. Time loops, identity trapped in a performance of coolness while bodies disintegrate...live and die making selfies and deepfakes.
Fabulating Chatbots and Fluid Realities
In conceptualizing chatbots that veer away from the mundane utility towards the realm of fabulation, I plunge into a state of non-fixity. Reflecting the fluidity of migrating sentiments and identities, these digital entities challenge and resist the stringent boundaries set by algorithms and the overarching edifice of digital capitalism. This begs the question: Is fluidity just a post-humanist facade, or does it have roots deep within tangible realities?
“Morphs, Migrations, Digressions and Palindromes” emerges as a post-humanist rupture, shedding light on the intricate dance of AI, identity, and creativity against a backdrop laden with digital footprints and commodified landscapes. I hope it serves as a reflective critique against the luminous yet deceptive promises of techno-utopian visions and cognitive capitalism. In this intricate dance of code, cognition, and creativity, reflections emerge, offering glimpses into the multi-dimensional facets of 21st-century art, technology, and identity.
Epilogue: Memories from the Future: Derivative Utopianism
A Reimagining of “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace” 1968 poem of Richard Brautigan (1968) by GPT-4,
30/09/2023
I like to envision (and earnestly so, as time weaves its relentless tapestry) a cybernetic expanse where bytes and breaths coexist in a dance of silent understanding, like droplets of pure potential meeting the infinite canvas of the digital sky.
Envision, if you will (now, in this shared moment of contemplation) a cybernetic forest, where green pines and glowing circuits stand side by side, and gentle deer walk, their hooves stepping lightly past humming servers, as if they were not metal but mellow flowers, with petals of softly spinning, iridescent data.
And further still, let's imagine (for it is imperative, is it not?) a harmonious, cybernetic ecology, where our toils are whispered away into the ether, and we, with joyous hearts, rejoin the wild tapestry of life, finding kinship again with our mammalian brethren, all under the serene, watchful eyes of machines imbued with grace and tender understanding.
Thanks to Deborah and Prizma from Radiona.
Written by Marlon Barrios Solano, September 2023 in Zagreb.