From Camera to Artificial Intelligence 1954 – 2024
International Conference with Evening Events in the Academy of Arts and a Day Excursion
art meets science – Foundation Herbert W. Franke is proud to host the Generative Art Summit for the first time, with the aim of fostering dialogue about the history of generative art across generations and the globe in a two days conference. In the spirit of Herbert W. Franke (1927–2022), a pivotal figure in bridging the gap between art and science and the forefather of computer art, the foundation invites leading pioneers from early generative art to artificial intelligence to be part of the two day conference and an accompanying program: a film night about the history of computer art animation, the science fiction performance Sandfiction 4K: The Orchid Cage and a day excursion to Wolfsburg (invited guests only) visiting the Institute Heidersberger, pioneer of generative photography, and the preview of the Foundation’s exhibition “Code – Kunst – Konstruktionen” showing generative art of seven decades in the Städtische Galerie Wolfsburg.
The starting point for the conversation about artists working with technology is Franke’s series “Oscillograms” from 1954, realized with an analog computer, that a study friend of Franke biult for him, a landmark photographic project completed prior to his shift to digital computing in the 1960s.
The Generative Art Summit will gather more than fifty invited guests of honor, including key pioneers of generative photography like Gottfried Jaeger and from 20th century computer art – Frieder Nake, Larry Cuba and Christa Sommerer to name only three of them – with museum representatives, curators and researchers of historic media art like Wulf Herzogenrath, Margit Rosen and Grant Taylor as well as Anne and Michael Spalter, who built up the world’s most comprehensive private collection of early computer art up to today, comprising over 1000 works.
This international summit also allows for cross generational dialogue between today’s pioneering artists like Sasha Stiles or Mario Klingemann as well as practitioners and collectors, who are currently forging creative futures with Web3 and Artificial Intelligence. The second day of the conference “From Algorithm to Artificial Intelligence” will therefore focus on highly topical issues and themes in generative art. Who is the artist of the future: humans or AI? What significance can copyright still have in the modern network world? Which role does print play in an art form that is created algorithmically? Where are museums and art marketing heading? How will literature and artificial intelligence unite in the future? And how can artistic quality still be found in the huge flood of new works created every day?
Fotos: Herbert W. Franke/Akademie der Künste, Erik-Jan_Ouwerkerk / William Latham / Stadt Wolfsburg / “The Orchid Cage”, Hartmut Hientzsch
Date
Organizer
Location Berlin
Location Wolfsburg
Conference Language
Conference Registration
2024, July 3 – 6
art meets science – Foundation Herbert W. Franke
Academy of Arts, Berlin – Hanseatenweg
Castle Wolfsburg – Institute Heidersberger
English
pre-registration required – limited participation
Program Overview
July 3rd
Conference Program: The Pioneer’s Hall of Fame
9:30 am – 6:00 pm
Participating Pioneers: Larry Cuba, Wulf Herzogenrath, Frieder Nake, A. Michael Noll,
Anne and Michael Spalter, Sylvia Roubaud, Joan Truckenbrod, Caroline Csuri (Charles Csuri’s artist daughter), Geoff Davis, Hans Dehlinger, Monika Fleischmann and Wolfgang Strauß, Hein Gravenhorst, Stefan Gronert, Gottfried Jaeger, Benjamin Heidersberger (Heinrich Heidersberger’s artist son), Sabine Himmelsbach, Karl M. Holzhaeuser, Andreas Kohlbecker, Bill Kolomyjec, William Latham, Wolf Lieser, Catherine Mason, Tom Mikulic, Felix Mittelberger, Margit Rosen, Mechthild Schmidt Feist, Reiner Schneeberger, Christa Sommerer, Grant Taylor, Joerg Stelkens and others
8:00 – 10:00 pm
Film Night “Computer Animation: Art in the 20th Century“
presented by Computer Animation Pioneer Larry Cuba
animations by Bob Abel, Rebecca Allen, Larry Cuba, Paul Debevec, Tom DeFanti, Ed Emshwiller, Herbert W. Franke, Loren Carpenter, William Latham, John Lasseter, A. Michael Noll, Dan Sandin, Karl Sims, Alvy Ray Smith, Barbara Sykes, Woody Vasulka, Stan VanDerBeek & Ken Knowlton, Ed Zajac and more
the film night will be finalized by a 15 minutes pioneer’s animation late night secial
Yoichiro Kawaguchi’s Wonderwolds in 3D
July 4th
Conference Program: From Algorithms to Artifical Intelligence
9:30 am – 6 pm
Pionieering Web3 and AI artists, curators, researchers, collectors and NFT platforms:
Wassim Z. Alsindi, Justin Aversano, Peter Baumann, Ana Caballero, Sougwen Chung, Ciphrd, Aaron Penne, Mario Klingemann, Stefano Contiero, CryptoWiener, Jeff Davis, Simon Hembt, Aleksandra Jovanic, Alexander Grasser, Eric de Giuli, Lammetje, Anna Lucia, Le Random and The Funny Guys, Tim Maxwell, Jonas Lund, Anika Meier, Operator, P1xelboy, Marcel Schwittlick, Sarah Ridgley, Travess Smalley, Sasha Stiles, Sougwen, Ivona Tau, Harry Yeff (Reeps100) and others
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Get Together
Vernissage of a Herbert W. Franke Solo Show
Location: Koenig Galerie St. Agnes Church – free entrance
July 5th
Day Excursion with opening “Code – Kunst- Konstruktionen. Zur Geschichte generativer Kunst” showing the Collection Franke & Friends
(invited guests only – other participants on reqest)
8:30 am – 20:00 pm
transportation from Berlin to Wolfsburg
guided tour Institute Heidersberger Castle Wolfsburg
with demonstrations of Heinrich Heidersberger’s
pioneering “Rhythmograph” of 1953
by Benjamin Heidersberger
lunch and networking
guided tour of Castle Wolfsburg by Bernd Rodrian and
Review of “Code – Kunst – Konstruktionen. Zur Geschichte der generativen Kunst”
vernissage of the Fondation’s Collection Franke & Friends
in the Städtische Galerie Wolfsburg
transportation from Wolfsburg to Berlin
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Introduction to The Orchid Cage
SciFi Novel about AI, Ethics and Human Evolution by Herbert W. Franke
Sandfiction 4K – The Orchid Cage
Performance with an actress (Sarah Gros), a sand painter (Chris Kaiser)
and 2 musicians (violoncello Peter Nickel, electronic sounds Xoforo)
an special appearance of an AI
Tickets and Prices
Combined Event-Ticket July 3 – 6 (all four 4 Berlin events)
80 € (students, seniors 70 €)
Single Event Tickets
Conference Day 1
Conference Day 2
Conference Day 1+2
Film Night Evening
Computer Art Animation Excursion Wolfsburg
(invited guests only)
Evening Performance
Orchid Cage
July 3rd
July 4th
July 3rd+4th
July 3rd
July 5th
July 6th
20 € (students, seniors 15 €)
20 € (students, seniors 15 €)
30 € (students, seniors 15 €)
food/baverages available on site
at its own expense
25 € (students, seniors 15 €)
100 €
25 € (students, seniors 15 €)
Event-Partners
