This is an archive article published on September 6, 2018

Made by Machine

What happens when Artificial Intelligence gets creative? An exhibition explores an art form in its infancy

5 min readSep 6, 2018 04:47 AM IST

Works by Tom White

The gallery is decked with artwork of varied politics. On one wall are frames with colourful bubbles, blotches and squiggles that would look good in a schoolroom. On the opposite wall are gory images of plucked meat stuck to the bones. In one room, all by itself, a man’s face twists and eddies on loop in a giant video screen. What were the artists thinking? Except, that artists have not made these works, at least not entirely. “Gradient Descent” at Delhi’s Nature Morte, for the first time in India, features art created by artificial intelligence (AI).

The series of pictures of meat on bone is called The Anatomy Lessons of Dr Algorithm. The AI, trained by Harshit Agrawala — the only Indian artist in the group of seven and researcher of Human Computer Interaction — create art that is imagined human dissections. The machine’s gaze on the insides of human beings is disturbing and reminiscent of torsos in the aftermath of a bomb blast.

When Karthik Kalyanaraman, who has curated the show with his brother Raghava KK, was speaking to a curator friend in the US, her main question was, “What is the connection between AI and art?” “My whole point was, ‘Look at photography. That was considered purely technical in the beginning but, later, you developed it as an art form,” he says.

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When computers get creative, it is because of an algorithm called Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), which is said to be the “coolest idea…in 20 years”. It was introduced in an academic paper by Ian Goodfellow of the University of Montreal in 2014 and made him one of the rockstars of AI research. “AI is a programme that learns to do something from examples and not rules. Imagine you are an art teacher and I am your student. You don’t teach me anything about composition, but show me a whole set of images. And you say, ‘This is good art and now you make something original after seeing all of this’. The human intervention is in curating or choosing that example for the AI,” says Kalyanaraman.

Anna Ridler’s Fall of the House of Usher

In the video work of a man’s distorted faces, titled 79530 Self-Portraits, the AI was fed massive amounts of portraits of the Old Masters. Ultimately, the machine began to interpret all images it saw as an Old Master portrait. When Mario Klingermann, a Munich-based artist in residence at Google Art and Culture, trained a webcam on his face and routed the images into the AI, the machine interpreted these — even when he was looking sideways or making weird faces — as front-facing Old Master portraits. The result is a range of distorted self-portraits. “Self-portraiture has been a huge genre in art and Mario questions what the self portrait is? Is it the machine which is producing the final images or is it the artist?” says Kalyanaraman.

Working with computers and algorithms, artists in the exhibition have trained the AIs on images from the Google Art Archive and self-created paintings, among others. “Training GAN is a delicate process. If you train them too quickly, or too slowly, they produce rubbish. Getting to the point where they are being creative is an art,” he adds.

Mario Klingemann’s 79530 Self-Portraits

Another video work, Deep Meditations by Memo Akten, who works with computation as a medium, shows a sandy beach changing into a star-filled sky and, in an instance, into a bird’s eye view of a mountain terrain. Accompanying these transforming images is a deep soundscape created by another AI algorithm that has been trained on religious chants, prayers and ritual music.

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Does AI see differently from people? A New Zealand artist, who investigates machine perception, Tom White’s series, Perception Engines answers that. One work, of green curves and purple tubes, draws diverse interpretations from a group of viewers. One says the work depicts birds in flight, another says it is a weather chart and yet another calls it a plate of food. “Four different AIs interpreted this as porn. This image will be categorised as ‘imapproprita’ or ‘explicit content’ by online image analysis AIs,” says Kalyanaraman. Suddenly, you begin to see phallic symbols in the work and erotica in shapes and colours. AI just changed your perception.

At Nature Morte in Delhi till September 15

Dipanita Nath

Dipanita Nath is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. She is a versatile journalist with a deep interest in the intersection of culture, sustainability, and urban life. Professional Background Experience: Before joining The Indian Express, she worked with other major news organizations including Hindustan Times, The Times of India, and Mint. Core Specializations: She is widely recognized for her coverage of the climate crisis, theatre and performing arts, heritage conservation, and the startup ecosystem (often through her "Pune Inc" series). Storytelling Focus: Her work often unearths "hidden stories" of Pune—focusing on historical institutes, local traditions, and the personal journeys of social innovators. Recent Notable Articles (December 2025) Her recent reporting highlights Pune’s cultural pulse and the environmental challenges facing the city during the winter season: 1. Climate & Environment "Pune shivers on coldest morning of the season; minimum temperature plunges to 6.9°C" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on the record-breaking cold wave in Pune and the IMD's forecast for the week. "How a heritage tree-mapping event at Ganeshkhind Garden highlights rising interest in Pune’s green legacy" (Dec 20, 2025): Covering a citizen-led initiative where Gen Z and millennials gathered to document and protect ancient trees at a Biodiversity Heritage Site. "Right to breathe: Landmark NGT order directs PMC to frame norms for pollution from construction sites" (Dec 8, 2025): Reporting on a significant legal victory for residents fighting dust and air pollution in urban neighborhoods like Baner. 2. "Hidden Stories" & Heritage "Inside Pune library that’s nourished minds of entrepreneurs for 17 years" (Dec 21, 2025): A feature on the Venture Center Library, detailing how a collection of 3,500 specialized books helps tech startups navigate the product life cycle. "Before he died, Ram Sutar gave Pune a lasting gift" (Dec 18, 2025): A tribute to the legendary sculptor Ram Sutar (creator of the Statue of Unity), focusing on his local works like the Chhatrapati Shivaji statue at Pune airport. "The Pune institute where MA Jinnah was once chief guest" (Dec 6, 2025): An archival exploration of the College of Agriculture, established in 1907, and its historical role in India's freedom struggle. 3. Arts, Theatre & "Pune Inc" "Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak were not rivals but close friends, says veteran filmmaker" (Dec 17, 2025): A deep-dive interview ahead of the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) exploring the camaraderie between legends of Indian cinema. "Meet the Pune entrepreneur helping women build and scale businesses" (Dec 16, 2025): Part of her "Pune Inc" series, profiling Nikita Vora’s efforts to empower female-led startups. "How women drone pilots in rural Maharashtra are cultivating a green habit" (Dec 12, 2025): Exploring how technology is being used by women in agriculture to reduce chemical use and labor. Signature Style Dipanita Nath is known for intellectual curiosity and a narrative-driven approach. Whether she is writing about a 110-year-old eatery or the intricacies of the climate crisis, she focuses on the human element and the historical context. Her columns are often a blend of reportage and cultural commentary, making them a staple for readers interested in the "soul" of Pune. X (Twitter): @dipanitanath ... Read More

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