"We are in the noise"
Yes, in this exhibition by Tomás García, all the works were generated with artificial intelligence. And yes, it is challenging to discern which part comes from the creativity of artificial intelligence and how much corresponds to the mind of Tomás García (in case you were wondering). However, the significance does not lie so much in calculating percentages of authorship, but in encouraging us to explore the works and direct our curiosity towards our own answers: What are we witnessing? What beings are we looking at? What noise is it talking about?
"All My Noise" marks the first exhibition by Tomás García, featuring a multi-screen installation where we can see a selection of more than 300 images that immerse us in a situation of profound estrangement as privileged observers of each space and being we get to know throughout the exhibition. The images were created through the design of instructions (prompts) in combination with sets of visual information created and selected by Tomás García, to achieve unique results and avoid the homogenization of outcomes that artificial intelligence image creation models provide. This is not a superficial task, but a central aspect of the exhibition and the creative process, because there is no artificial intelligence model capable of interpreting how we are in Argentina, what our neighborhoods are like, how our gazes are, and what emotions we are capable of transmitting with our faces. The reason is simple: the technical development and the creation centers of these tools belong to other socioeconomic and cultural spheres, and everything that is created will inevitably be evidence of that focus. This is the usual scenario—and conflict—for Latin American artists who do not conform to the "defaults" of the tools and approach them as territories of subversion, causing the artistic work to be shaped by a relationship as close as it is unique with their tools.
Tomás's project develops at the same time that we face one of the most significant challenges: our coexistence with artificial intelligence and its impact on the culture we have built throughout our brief history. By leaving behind a tradition of highly controlled production and creation, we venture towards new paradigms of creation and community. In this context, a new (dark) toolbox provides Tomás García with elements that inspire us to reflect on how we wish to live our present and our future. "All My Noise" offers us the opportunity to be the ones, the viewers, who immerse ourselves in the noise of our era.
Text about “All My Noise” by Cristian Reynaga.
ALL MY NOISE - 2024
"All My Noise" consists of a set of more than 300 images that invite reflection on the "digital flesh" in which we wrap ourselves, the cultural and political biases that define us, and how the digital extensions of our being—prostheses of the modern era—shape the environment in which we live.
Through the dialogue between 3D figurative sculpture and the use of generative models with Stable Diffusion and Gen-2 by Runway the result reflects a meticulous creation process where the training of concepts, objects, masks, and faces reveals the different latent representations of a universe full of existing rules and tools that we must rediscover, reimagine, and represent.
Portraits
The portraits were generated using two models trained with two different concepts. On one hand, a face with features from the Buenos Aires Province region, and on the other, a model trained with 3D figurative works I created in 2023 called Trauma.
Each portrait was generated using Stable Diffusion, meaning every age, weight, hair color, mask color, objects appearing in the mask, light, colors, gazes, and emotions were requested using text prompts.
The most important work was trying to achieve a connection through the gaze that makes you forget the mask they are wearing.
Spaces
I created these landscapes with a model I trained using Google Street View photos of the Buenos Aires Province, combined with the style I applied in the portraits. This time, the goal was to transform spaces, not faces, following the same idea.
For each image, I defined several aspects: the time of day, the presence of mud and water in the streets, dirt marks, political graffiti and cartoons, people's activities, changes in buildings and signage, the type of businesses present, and the keywords to capture the emotional atmosphere of the scene.
Navigating this universe created following the aesthetic norms of the trained model was fascinating, and in the process, rediscovering and assigning new meaning to the symbols within the panorama.
These images are designed to be projected at almost real size (3800x1200). On smaller devices like computers or phones, their complexity is much less appreciable.
Totems
The totems are a way to concentrate the trained concepts into physical elements that generate familiarity with the environment and make us rethink what we are constantly seeing.
How to transmit a concept of control through cuteness, and that through objects.
How to represent mass consumption, compressed and exploding violence, mistreatment, the normal, the new, the bought, and the offered.
Reconstructing these elements helped me better understand the portraits and the space.
Bacteria
In the microscopic realm, where bacteria and cellular organisms take center stage, a visual metaphor emerges that encapsulates the evolution of our communication in the digital era. These biotechnological totems, encapsulated in the provided images, represent the fusion between the organic and the synthetic, thus symbolizing the complex relationships between words and symbols in our digital lives.
These works reflect how innocence and adorableness can serve as vehicles to transmit concepts of control. Here, the "cute" not only captivates but also confronts us with the paradox of manipulation through objects designed to be visually pleasing. These figures, with their friendly appearance and bright colors, camouflage a critique of mass consumption, encapsulating the latent violence in overproduction and consumerism.
FACTORY
The artworks in this section are a testament to the dual nature of factories as both bastions of efficiency and as unwitting cultivators of excess. They invite us to ponder the ironic beauty found in the mechanized repetition of adorable figures, each one a mirror to our collective consciousness. As they roll off the production lines, these creations are not just commodities; they are commentaries on the commodification of whimsy and the paradox of abundance.
Far removed from the stark, grim factories of industrial lore, the environments are infused with a spectrum of colors and a life force that defies the very concept of automated monotony. The output of these factories—seemingly innocuous and charming in their whimsical forms—carries a weighty commentary on the undercurrents of our society. They stand as a captivating contradiction, their beguiling innocence juxtaposed against a backdrop of meticulous control and pervasive consumerism.
