By JAMES SAM

As the concept of art changes with the times, so does art itself. Illuminating the works of a man active during the Renaissance as an engineer, scientist, architect, inventor, philosopher, sculptor, and most notably as an artist, the modernization of Leonardo da Vinci’s work by Bonifacio Global City and Ouchhh bridges the gap between art, science, and technology. Opened to the public on the fifth of August was the multi-sensory spectacle which pulls artworks of the past into modern times through the use of artificial intelligence (A.I.) and large-scale data collection. 

This exhibit pushes the boundaries of art by redefining some of history’s greatest artists’ most notable works into a marvelous display of visual art installations. Making its debut in the Philippines, this extraordinary collection of digital art allows spectators to immerse themselves in a unique yet modern experience of art.

Ouchhh, a new media studio based in Istanbul, made use of their proprietary machine learning program to create visual art installations constructed out of data collected from multiple sources. This technique is highlighted in the curator lounge where participants get to bask in an exploration of the relationship between human creativity and technology. Drawing on a digital library consisting of 20 million lines derived from the works of scientists such as Albert Einstein and Galileo Galilei, Ouchhh blends these data with their signature aesthetics through the use of innovative A.I. algorithms resulting in the poetic A.I. gallery. 

Consisting of a massive fixture showcasing the generated digital artwork, Ouchhh’s poetic A.I. gallery serves as the opening act to their brand new exhibit. Following is a reflection of our pulse as a civilization. With the use of the Philippines’ budgets, agriculture, and various statistics, the Manila real-time data artwork presents spectators with a data-piece that actively fluctuates according to our ever-changing nation.

In a hall adjacent to the curator’s lounge, four chapters of dynamic and immersive data-paintings flood the senses in what is called the digital garden of dreams. DataGate, a collaboration with the National Aeronautics Space Administration, is a data-painting making use of data gathered by the Kepler space telescope. The data of 500,000 stars, 2,500 planets, and 60 supernovae were used for DataGate. Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s study of human proportions and symmetry, Atlas is comprised of the works of our world’s scientists.

 It is a compilation of our current knowledge of the human body—an infusion of modern art and science. A piece of Filipino history is also found within these immersive halls as some of Juan Luna’s works are translated as data-paintings. Filipino Master features a dynamic reinterpretation of Luna’s most iconic paintings. Crowning the digital garden of dreams is a cognitive and artistic performance. Members of the Manila Symphony Orchestra, at the exhibit’s opening, donned headgear that tracked real-time brain activity during a live performance. Superstrings establishes the connection between human creativity and machine learning by interpreting data about emotion, focus, and attention.

Wisdom of Da Vinci, the second immersive hall, wraps up the unique artistic experience by showcasing the mind of a genius. Completely surrounded by digital art installations, this hall traps participants into the inner workings of Leonardo da Vinci. From iconic art pieces such as the Mona Lisa down to the precise details of his manuscripts, this room emanates timelessness through an abstract and novel approach. Utilizing data found from his sketches, blueprints, and paintings, this culminating hall breathes new life into the works of Da Vinci. 
 

“Wisdom of Da Vinci: An Immersive AI Experience” is now open to the public until Sept. 30. It is located on the third level of One Bonifacio High Street, 5th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Tickets are priced at ₱ 975 for adults and ₱780 for students, available for purchase at https://bgcimmersive.com