BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) is showcasing four digital installations utilizing artificial intelligence as part of its Next Wave Festival, marking a strategic pivot toward technological innovation following recent organizational changes.
The initiative’s context: The Techne exhibition, featuring works from the Onassis Foundation’s ONX Studio, represents BAM’s effort to attract new audiences and push creative boundaries after reducing programming and staff in 2023.
- The showcase takes place in a black box theater at BAM’s Fisher building
- The exhibition comprises four digital video installations, combining AI technology with artistic expression
- This technological focus marks a deliberate shift in BAM’s programming strategy
Central installation spotlight: “The Golden Key,” created by digital artist and anthropologist Marc Da Costa, demonstrates the interactive potential of AI-generated visual storytelling.
- The installation features three enormous video screens displaying AI-generated scenes based on verbal input
- Visual content is rendered in a nostalgic style reminiscent of vintage travel posters
- A computer-generated voice with a British accent narrates the evolving stories
- The system can create dynamic scenes in response to spoken narratives, such as materializing delivery bicycles and forest landscapes
Technical innovation: The installations showcase how artificial intelligence can be used as a creative tool, blending human input with machine-generated visuals.
- The technology allows for real-time generation of visual content based on verbal storytelling
- AI systems interpret narrative elements and transform them into cohesive visual scenes
- The installation maintains artistic quality while delivering computer-generated imagery, suggesting a sophisticated integration of AI and artistic vision
Analyzing deeper implications: This exhibition represents a significant moment in the convergence of traditional arts institutions and emerging technologies, potentially setting a precedent for how cultural organizations can adapt to changing audience expectations while maintaining artistic integrity.
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