'Machines are collaborators' at this new museum of AI art
The Dataland museum in Los Angeles, co-founded by artist Refik Anadol, uses AI algorithms to transform massive data sets into immersive, multi-sensory art installations. The museum explores the intersection of human creativity and machine learning, questioning the nature of reality.
Why it matters
It represents a growing trend of AI-integrated creative expression, sparking debates about the role of technology in traditional art spaces.
Visiting the new Dataland museum in downtown Los Angeles is like stepping into a hyperreal nighttime fantasy.
At various points as visitors move through black, cavernous spaces, they hear the sounds of Amazon rainforest creatures, a tropical thunderstorm, and excerpts from a Los Angeles Philharmonic recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 3 .
In one room they see what a hummingbird would see as it flies through a dense, vividly-colored landscape. In another, they stand before a massive, three-dimensional painting where bright, abstract shapes splash out of the frame in a real-time response to biometric data captured via wearable wristbands – kind of like fitness trackers. The museum also has a smell and taste component. It's sensory overload.
No two visitors' experiences of Dataland, which opened in June, are exactly alike. But they all stem from the singular creative mind of Refik Anadol.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in