PCAI is glad to announce PCAI Collection artist George Drivas’ new artistic intervention Ghost in the Machine at the Municipal Theater of Piraeus, opening on December 29, 2024. Ghost in the Machine traverses the building of the theatre and follows the stages of thought and evolution of an artificial intelligence model as it “walks” through the theatre’s spaces with the spectators. Sometimes it shows them its achievements and sometimes “talks” to them about the importance of its evolution. Ghost in the Machine is the product of collaboration and dialogue between the artist and different AI models, combining the fields of visual art/video art, photography, performance and narrative cinema.
As noted in the artist’s statement: “The title of the exhibition is inspired by the well-known author Isaac Asimov who uses it in his book “I, Robot” to describe problems of software operation in a future world when random parts of their code have grouped themselves together without human intervention, resulting in completely unexpected operating protocols. At a time when a new version of creativity is beginning to emerge in artificial intelligence programs that can now express their own versions of intellectual expression and digital production, can we speak of a dichotomy between the intellect and the human body? Or, in other words, can we now imagine independent software as an independent creative spirit without a human host? The works in the exhibition, define a new chapter in the history of art, which in my opinion could be called New Creativity, and address the way we experience, feel but also interpret the very essence of human existence”.
Ghost in the Machine features the following works (*in order of appearance):
– “Airship” (Top Floor, Sound/light installation in the theatre’s Dome) The AI model – protagonist describes what it sees in the space.
– “Facts of a Finite Future” (Video, Main Stage) 5 different AI models collaborate in a conversation that produces images, sound, voices and many interpretations.
– “Kaizo” (Performance in Foyer) Two dancers – avatars interact with a photo of them that is “hacked” by an AI model.
– “Kaizo” (Video, Main Stage) The physical performance of the previous stage continues in digital format. The two dancer-avatars get lost in an empty Athens, playing a mysterious game of exploration while an AI model continues to “hack” their images.
– “Ghost in the Machine” (Sound piece, Main Stage) The AI model – protagonist addresses the audience on stage.
– “Description of an Image” (Audiovisual installation, underneath the Main Stage) The AI model – protagonist confesses that if it would stop operating, it would like to create one last image. What would that image be? The model describes some alternative last images and creates them.
– “Biography of a Software” (Video, Omega Stage) “Biography of a Software” is a narrative film made entirely by a series of AI models. The story of the film is about a man who wakes up with total amnesia. With the help of an AI model, tries to remember who he is and retrieve all the information about his life. “The Biography of a Software”, produced in 2024, is the first medium length narrative film in Greece that has been created entirely with the use of such programs and it was recently selected in the framework of the European program “DIGITAL on STAGE: Unleashing the Performing Arts Experience through Digital Innovation”, which is co-funded by the “Creative Europe” program to be included in an official list as an example of good practice, regarding the application of new digital tools in art.
Dates: December 29, 2024 – March 9, 2025
Presentation dates: Sundays at 22.00, 29/12/2024, 5/01/2025, 12/01/2025, 26/01/2025, 9/02/2025, 16/02/2025, 23/02/2025, 02/03/2025 and 09/03/2025
Duration: 70 min.
Find out MORE
Image credit: ©George Drivas
Activity aligned with Goals 3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17