Ahead into a fully robotic art market
We are running with lowered heads towards a world where works of art will be created by robots (or algorithms, if you prefer), evaluated by "pricing motors", distributed by robots (or the Net) and collected by robots. This is not a dream. Lets comment stage by stage:
- Production. we have at lenght presented (more or less) automated creation in our book L'art génératif (with Alain Lioret)
- Evaluation: Google and a lot or websites do it daily, and automated auction sites are active since the 1990's. About aesthetic criteria, see our communication at Laval Virtual 2013.
- Distribution: Virtual art galleries and ad hoc websites are developing, like Bright. And possibly on more general websites like Ebay.
- Collection. That seems a little more utopic. But the high layers of art marked, specially for the contemporary artists, is mainly a speculative business. Most of the works are stored in strongholds, or "in the cloud" if they are immaterial.
Then what will prevent the art market to resemble the disputed but strongly real FTS (Fast transaction systems) of the banks ?
This reflexion was born from the "recommendation motors" quoted by Abdel Bounane (Bright CEO), in his speech at a nourishing day organized at Cité des Sciences by Labex ICCA (which we will soon post a detailed record).
If artists, galleries, mediators and art lovers are to survive, they will have to create something else than the "information capitalism" presented today by a lof of authors. The engaged parties at the Labex day are striving from different standpoints to find business models and public policies to give the digital creation a sustainable development. But the way remains to be paved.
P.B.
June 16, 2015
DICCAN'S PARTNERS:
Paris ACM Siggraph, the French chapter of ACM Siggraph, worldwide non-profit organization of computer graphics.
