Aragnation by Devi Parikh and Abhishek Das

Art Blocks Collection: Presents Project Description: Aragnation questions preconceived notions of what AI art can be. Does AI art have to be powered by giant neural networks? Do the aesthetics have to be that of photos or paintings or collages of pieces thereof? Aragnation uses tiny AI models and constructs abstract imagery in the vocabulary of abstract blobs and organic textures rather than pixels. It is playful with colors. It has a hint of a watercolor and art paper aesthetic. The training data includes photographs taken by one of the artists, Abhishek. The generated pieces thus capture, in broad strokes, Abhishek’s photography – nature, landscapes and urban settings. In a refreshing contrast to the gravity of the role AI technology is playing in content creation and creative expression, Aragnation brings a light and joyful touch to generative AI art. No GPUs were harmed in the making of Aragnation. All AI models are entirely different architectures than those commonly used, and have been designed and trained from scratch by the artists.