Quasimondo: Redefining Machine Creativity

The Unconventional Path: Quasimondo ‘s Journey into AI Artistry

An autodidact, Quasimondo has been intrigued by the potential of near-autonomous machine creativity since the early 1980s when he first began teaching himself programming. While he grew up with an engineer as a father and a painter as a mother, his journey into the art world was unconventional: he did not master a paintbrush or refine his photographic skills, but it was rather the fascination for technology’s endless creative possibilities that propelled him towards this direction, establishing himself as an acclaimed artist. To date, collaborations with prestigious institutions include Google Arts and Culture, The British Library, Cardiff University, and New York Public Library to name a few.

When it comes to the essence of his work, Quasimondo views the algorithm as the true canvas of his art. This perspective is aptly represented in his acclaimed piece, “Memories of Passersby I” which generates unique, never-before-seen portraits in real-time through neural networks. What underscores this work is an exploration of the fleeting nature of beauty and the constant quest for ‘interestingness’, challenging the boundaries of aesthetics and encouraging viewers to question the nature of artistic creation itself.

Technique, and medium-wise, Klingemann employs a blend of generative adversarial networks (GANs), machine learning, and code to create his body of work — He meticulously programs these systems to not only produce visually pleasing outputs but also to reflect surrealist influences and his own aesthetic preferences. Throughout this creative process, he states how the role as the artist is not diminished, but rather enhanced through this co-creative process with the machine. Despite the unlimited creative potential of AI, he stresses the inherent human element, stating, “The machine doesn’t have the urge to create.”