We welcome the work by Maurizio Anzeri to @foundation! ✨
Maurizio Anzeri is an Italian artist known for his unique and thought-provoking works of art.
He was born in Sardinia, Italy, in 1970 and began his career as an artist in the 1990s. Anzeri's work is primarily focused on embroidery, photography, and sculpture.
One of Anzeri's most recognizable and celebrated series of works is his "embroidered portraits." These are photographs of people that have been embroidered with thread, creating a unique and striking visual effect.
The embroidery adds a layer of texture and depth to the photographs and a sense of nostalgia and memory.
Anzeri's embroidered portraits have been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide and are widely praised for their originality and emotional impact.
In addition to his embroidered portraits, Anzeri has created several sculptures incorporating found objects and materials. These sculptures are often thought-provoking and evocative and explore themes such as memory, identity, and the passage of time.
Anzeri's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, including the Tate Modern in London, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and the Venice Biennale.
🔗 If you would like to collect one of his embroidered pieces, check out his collection on @foundation. 🪡
It's fascinating how the works of @edbyus stem from their ingenious and controlled utilization of AI's unpredictable nature. They've harnessed a level of control of what one might call 'digital hallucinations' in order to develop a new unique ecosystem of creatures that echo the aesthetic of Boldtron. These creations are not only visually compelling due to their vibrant chromatic palette and structured compositions reminiscent of past works by the creative duo, but they also cleverly integrate a familiar digital gesture: the loop.
This looping mechanism, frequently encountered in meme culture through GIFs, serves a pivotal role in animating Boldtron's 'Hatchlings'. Each artwork is densely packed with intricate details that defy full absorption in a single viewing.
Here, the strategic use of repetition as a leitmotif proves its worth. By perpetually revisiting the same motions, the loop invites the viewer's eye to discover and rediscover new details in every pass, making the creatures appear alive and suspended in fluid—an effect both mesmerizing and ethereal. This subtle yet powerful use of the loop not only animates but also embeds itself into the core significance of each piece, becoming an invisible yet integral part of the artwork's narrative.
This collection features strange creatures that appear to come from the depths of the abyssal ocean.
→ The Vault of Wonders: Chapter 1 - The Abyssal Unseen by @edbyus
Back in the Renaissance, people loved collecting strange and rare objects in "cabinets of curiosities." These collections were like the first museums, filled with fascinating items that sparked wonder about the natural world. The Vault of Wonders brings that concept into the digital age by creating unique creatures that feel both real and imaginary.
The series is divided into 100 Hatchlings and 36 Families. Each family comprises 25 different creatures that share similar anatomical and physiological characteristics, resulting in a total of 1,000 pieces.
Meet some of these creatures and the families they are part of ↓ ↓
When the Tools Change, The Stories Change
The Evolution of AI Aesthetics
The advancement of technology has always been a catalyst for transformation in art. From photography to digital art, each new tool changes the stories we tell and how we tell them. This is clear in three recent projects: AlignDraw by Elman Mansimov, Infinite Images ∞ by Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst, and The Vault of Wonders: Chapter 1 - The Abyssal Unseen by Boldtron. These projects show how new tools can change artistic expression and storytelling.
→ alignDRAW by @elmanmansimov
alignDRAW is one of the first steps in AI-generated art. The images are pixelated, blurry, and sometimes just blobs of color. It doesn't look like high-quality, realistic art, but that's not the point. Like the Wright flyer or the first photograph, alignDRAW is important because it was the beginning. Over time, people learned to see beauty in some of its outputs, recognizing the model's early success. This project shows the early stages of AI art and its potential to grow.
→ Infinite Images ∞ by @HollyHerndon and @MatDryhurst
Infinite Images ∞ demonstrates the advanced capabilities of modern AI art. Using the first version of OpenAI's DALL·E and InPaint, Herndon and Dryhurst create seamless extensions of scenes in a very unique artistic style. They create coherent and narratively rich art, like piecing together a large mural with precision. The project goes beyond simple image generation, exploring expansive narrative worlds like graphic novels or tapestries. It shows how AI can help artists easily bring their visions to life, pushing the boundaries of creativity.
About three decades ago, Adobe revolutionized photo editing with the release of Photoshop, a software initially expected to sell just 500 copies. At that time, digital editing was gaining interest, but most photos were still edited manually.
Professional retoucher Pratik Naik described the painstaking process in a 2013 blog post: zooming required a magnifying glass, edits lacked history states and layers, and tools like the healing brush were nonexistent.
Art directors and designers spent hours perfecting images using traditional tools like paint brushes and airbrushes. Photo manipulation, however, has a long history predating Photoshop, including early techniques like the wet collodion process for combining images on a negative.
Manipulation wasn't always for artistic purposes; "spirit photography" in the 19th century claimed to capture spirits, exemplified by William H. Mumler's controversial images of Abe Lincoln's supposed ghost.
Even before Photoshop, photography saw hoaxes like the Cottingley Fairies and staged scenes like "The Valley of the Shadow of Death" from the Crimean War, illustrating the early use of photography to tell stories or fabricate realities.
According to Mia Fineman, photo manipulation predates digital tools, with photographers historically using available means to achieve their desired images.
🖼️ Man on rooftop with 11 men in formation on his shoulders. 1930.
William H. Mumler's controversial images of Abe Lincoln's supposed ghost.
“Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec as artist and model,” Maurice Guibert. c. 1900.
As we near the end of the year, let's take a moment to celebrate Fellowship's projects throughout this year.
↓ Post Photographic Perspectives II (Stills)
In this third decade of the new millennium, we’ve witnessed breathtaking advancements in technology and culture. AI is quickly upending traditional rules and is on its way to becoming the defining medium of art in this century.
We at Fellowship are proud to be championing the artists and thinkers who are pioneering new visions for photography in the age of AI.
Contemporary artists take risks in their practice and themes. This exploration is vital for comprehending the ever-evolving world of visual art and storytelling.
↓ The artist Edward Hopper has made an enduring mark on the fields of visual arts and photography.
Edward Hopper, the renowned American painter, is celebrated for his iconic portrayals of urban solitude, desolation, and everyday life.
His unique approach to composition, his eerie use of light, and his uncanny ability to capture the inherent loneliness of the American spirit have made him a seminal figure in the world of art.