In the world of digital art, the only constant is change. And for Flamingo, one of the most forward-thinking DAOs in the space, change is not only inevitable, but embraced. With each passing day, the DAO adds new works to its collection, expanding its reach and influence in the world of digital art and beyond.

Yet, Flamingo is not content to simply acquire works from established genres. Instead, the DAO has made a conscious effort to engage, understand, and collect emerging art forms to push the boundaries of what is considered "digital art." From video to motion, AI to post-photography and digital painting, Flamingo's collection is emblematic of the DAO's commitment to artistic innovation and exploration.

The process of adding new works to the collection is a collaborative effort within the DAO, with members working together to identify and acquire new pieces. Flamingo’s flat structure plays a crucial role in this process, with interested members meeting regularly to discuss potential acquisitions and prioritizing works that align with the DAO’s vision.

Flamingo's commitment to emerging genres goes beyond simply acquiring new works. The DAO has also made a point to commission both established and up-and-coming artists to create new pieces for the collection. By giving artists the opportunity and space to create work on their own terms, Flamingo is not only supporting the next generation of digital artists but also ensuring that its collection remains at the forefront of the industry.

We’re excited to share some recent acquisitions below.

Post-Photography

Flamingo has long been enamored with photography as a digital art form, having amassed a collection of works by notable digital artists, such as Justin Aversano and Rueben Wu. However, the DAO's persistent fascination with generative AI has sparked a reimagination of what's possible with photographs, especially those artists participating in the post-photography movement.

A hallmark of this burgeoning art form is the experimentation with various techniques to manipulate and distort images in ways that challenge our perceptions of reality.

This artform began to emerge in the early 21st century by directly confronting the conventional tenets of photography by exploring how digital culture has fundamentally altered the practice of capturing, displaying, and manipulating images. Notably, in 2011, artist Michael Wolf received the prestigious World Press Photo Award for a series of "portraits" derived from Google Street View. This series highlighted the growing trend of using pre-existing visual material in our hyper-documented world. While repurposing found imagery for artistic purposes isn't a novel concept, the sources, methods, and objectives of post-photography are constantly evolving.

As we increasingly experience the world through digital means, the boundaries between what constitutes a photograph and what doesn't continue to blur. Post-photography offers artists a vast playground for creative expression and experimentation, with no limits on what they can do. Not surprisingly these artists have looked to AI as part of this experimentation.

AI models are trained to recreate reality, but they are not encumbered by the same limitations of time, place, or human history. In the words of post-photography and AI artist Claire Silver, “Photography is a camera for what is. AI is a camera for what isn't.” AI is transforming photography by enhancing and creating images through machine learning algorithms. Artists are using GANs to generate new images and photorealistic 3D models. AI is poised to play a significant role in the future of photography, with the result being a new genre of digital art that feels real, yet otherworldly or surreal, with the ability to trigger emotional responses that connect us to reality on a personal level.

hyperreality, Claire Silver

Flamingo members have fallen under the spell of post-photography. Why? Because it flouts the prevailing conventions of photography. It's an art form seeking to explore fresh interpretations through works that are familiar, relatable, and eerie.

Silver is an embodiment of this avant-garde movement. Her "Genesis" collection, launched on Braindrops, is a prime example of Silver's ingenuity in pushing the limits of traditional photography and exploring the possibilities of post-photography. By deftly merging raw AI images, Silver produces a mesmerizing visual story that challenges viewers to reimagine their understanding of what an image can convey.

Silver's inventive approach to art, in many ways, epitomizes the post-photography movement, which endeavors to harness digital data to revolutionize and improve digital images. Silver tirelessly works and trains these new artificial systems to construct entirely novel realities that defy the conventional concepts of art and photography. This isn’t entering in a prompt.

In acknowledgement of her pioneering contributions to contemporary art, Silver has been granted an esteemed exhibition at The Louvre. Flamingo has long collected Claire’s works and this recognition solidifies her reputation as one of the leading artists spearheading the post-photography movement.

Bon Appetit, Life in West America, Roope Rainisto

Another striking example of post-photography artworks recently capturing the flamboyance’s eye is “Life in West America” by the inquisitive and perceptive Roope Rainisto. This series is a breathtaking blend of traditional photography and cutting-edge AI technology, resulting in a distinct and innovative flair that pushes the boundaries of digital art. Using custom-trained models, each piece in the series is a masterful creation that seamlessly merges the real and the virtual, erasing notions of time and space and evoking a sense of shared history.

The series' ability to conjure up the feeling that we are living in both the present and the past is a testament to Rainisto's talent for creating a unique suspension of disbelief. Through his exploration of AI-powered creation, Rainisto is challenging the way people work and create using their computers, further pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the realm of digital art.

Rainisto's passion for innovation is matched by his deep appreciation for the practical limitations and constraints of actual implementation. This is evident in the meticulous attention to detail and careful consideration of every aspect of the series. Each piece in "Life in West America" is engaging, presenting a fresh perspective on the emerging American landscape and its diverse inhabitants.

Video & Motion Art

Advances in post-photography are interesting, but not the only innovations and emerging art trends being recognized by Flamingo members. The DAO has been discussing, at length, advances with video and motion art, tracking a new class of creators pushing the boundaries of this dynamic genre. The emergence of video art dates back to the 1960s when pioneering artists like Nam June Paik sought to explore the creative potential of the medium. This genre enabled artists to experiment with various techniques, including image distortion, feedback, and multi-channel installations, in a quest to push the boundaries of what was possible with video.

Today, video art has evolved to include not only traditional film and digital video, but also a broad range of new media and technology, including VR and gaming. From projection mapping to interactive installations, video art offers a new and unique way for audiences to engage with creative expression, blurring the lines between art and technology.

Artists like Joe Pease are utilizing video art and incorporating movement or the illusion of movement to create captivating works that generate millions of views on Twitter. Meanwhile, James Kerr, aka Scorpion Dagger, first began making animated, stop-motion videos for his popular Instagram and Tumblr accounts. By combining video art with motion, artists are creating dynamic and changing works that invite viewers to experience the work in a completely different way than they would a traditional painting or sculpture – a movement that Flamingo and its members recognize.

All the Tired Horses / All at once, Joe Pease

In December 2022, Flamingo began to dive into the edges of video art by collecting “All the Tired Horses / All at once” by Pease. This iconic work features a bustling, urban city's crosswalk, providing a snapshot of a much larger narrative that invites viewers to imagine what happened before and what's yet to come. Pease's signature style comprises analog imagery of mundane objects and materials, such as parking lots, cars, corporate buildings, bicycles, airplanes, and people, layered to produce surreal, audiovisual loops.

Pease, a self-taught artist, draws inspiration from Spike Jonze's skateboarding films and the surrealism of Michel Gondry's cinema. Using simple techniques such as cutting and layering moving images in Photoshop and After Effects, Pease sculpts captivating collages that evoke relatability, spectacle, and awe. In his words, “I love the idea of seeing one scene from a much larger story and trying to figure out what happened before and what is going to happen next.”

Pease's works often achieve virality online. And for some, All the Tired Horses / All at once was the best digital art work created over the past year. We’re thrilled to have it in our collection.

Free Swim, Linda Dounia

Another captivating work acquired by Flamingo in this genre is Free Swim by Linda Dounia, an artist and curator from Senegal. Free Swim presents the viewer with an engaging pixelated and decomposed world of water (a substance interestingly missing from the electronic world) and muses on notions of power. She takes inspiration from the following passage in Margaret Atwood's novel The Penelopiad:

Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing, in the end, can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can't go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.

The Penelopiad is a retelling of the story of Odysseus and Penelope, from Penelope's perspective, and is a metaphor for the way power flows and changes and how women can navigate through it. Water in many ways reflects the way power is distributed and represented in society and how it can be patient, persistent, and adaptable. Through Free Swim, Dounia encourages the viewer to consider the idea that power, like water, can be distributed and suggests that technology’s decentralizing power may make it easier to move through life.

C’mon, Scorpion Dagger

On the other end of the spectrum, Flamingo has recently acquired a work by James Kerr, aka Scorpion Dagger, a master of humor in art. Kerr’s work often fuses Renaissance-style art with real-life experiences, giving classical paintings a modern, internet-inspired spin.

Since his foray into the digital asset market, Kerr has strived to incorporate the unique culture of crypto into his works. This is evident in his piece, C'mon, where he toys with the familiar concept of FOMO (fear of missing out), tempting God with a cast of mischievous characters, including Satan, a snake, and a dancing hot dog. Though God is initially intrigued, he ultimately resists and closes the curtain on temptation. Kerr's innovative approach garnered significant attention and appreciation from collectors around the globe, and not surprisingly Flamingo DAO members.

Generative AI Art

Flamingo's recent collecting efforts extend beyond post-photography and video and motion art. The DAO has been on a multi-year mission to procure and build a comprehensive collection of generative and AI-based pieces.

Generative AI art involves training algorithms to produce images or other media. With roots in the early days of computing, AI art has made great strides in recent years thanks to advances in machine learning. Artists can now create highly intricate and complex pieces through a collaborative process with the machine. The result is a sense of unpredictability and serendipity, with synthetic algorithms generating unexpected outcomes. Artists are leveraging deep learning algorithms, neural networks, and other forms of artificial intelligence to produce art that is both technically sophisticated and utterly unique.

Double-Faced Insomnia, Helena Sarin

Flamingo has recently bolstered its generative AI art collection with a fresh acquisition from Helena Sarin, a brilliant artist and software engineer. Sarin is renowned for her exceptional artwork that blends her technical skills and artistic prowess. Her technological background is grounded in her time at Bell Labs, where she designed commercial communication systems. Later on, as an independent consultant, she focused on developing computer vision software with deep learning.

Until recently, her art and software development had always been two separate paths. That all changed when she discovered Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). With GANs, she founded Neural Bricolage Studio, which showcases AI-assisted artwork and demystifies the process behind its creation.

Her work has been appreciated for years. Indeed, in a 2018 interview with Jason Bailey (@artnome), Sarin's still lifes drew comparisons to early Cubist collage works by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Bailey noted that GANs operate similarly to an early Cubist, fracturing images and recombining them through "algorithms" to create a brand-new perspective.

Sarin's recent oeuvre is an ode to still lifes and self-portraits, which have been favored by artists throughout history as a means to experiment with new mediums. Double-Faced Insomnia is a mysterious and pensive portrait painted by an AI-algorithm with a delicate touch and a nod to Sarin’s late-night art-making.

Firmenich, Pindar Van Arman

Outside of Sarin, Flamingo has continued to collect the work of Pindar Van Arman. The artist, who is both a hybrid artist and roboticist, has been exploring the intersection of art and artificial intelligence for decades, with his latest works offering an unprecedented look into the possibilities of AI.

Rather than seeing his AI-powered machines as mere assistants, Van Arman views them as partners in the creative process and uses them to deconstruct his own artistic practice. To that end, Van Arman has built a generative AI system so advanced that he now considers the possibility that all art is generative.

Firmenich is a stunning example of how art leads the charge–not just with culture, but often with technology too. Created over several days using deep learning and feedback loops, this AI-generated painting takes a historical photograph as its source material. Through Firmenich, Van Arman looks at AI from the lens of the past. He explores the idea that the past, present, and future are all interconnected, forming a lineage of generative art.

A singular memory of the machine II, Ivona Tau

While Van Arman has looked backward, Ivona Tau, a generative AI artist hailing from Vilnius, Lithuania, has explored how AI presents to us haunting, new perspectives of the present – alien-like views that begin to cast doubt about our collective future.

Tau’s extensive work leverages the power of neural networks and code to craft experimental works of photography and motion painting that push the boundaries of our understanding of the relationship between art and technology. Through the use of GANs, she takes personal experiences captured on film and transforms them into relatable memories that evoke deep emotional responses through the lens of artificial intelligence.

Flamingo has collected one of Tau's most captivating works, A Singular Memory of the Machine II, which invites viewers to explore their own interpretations and seek out familiar shapes amidst a sea of ambiguity. As we become increasingly enmeshed in artificial realities, the meanings we attach to visual concepts are heavily influenced by our own perceptions. However, our minds are programmed to recognize discrete representations of objects, which can lead to confusion when faced with the continuously generated morphings that characterize visually indeterminate imagery. In this way, AI serves to bridge the gaps between visual concepts and remind us of the power of our subconscious and free-flowing dreams.

The visual concepts that make up A Singular Memory of the Machine II disintegrate and then come back into focus, like our post-Internet world. This process bears a striking resemblance to the way in which our own thoughts and imperfect memories can flow freely and become sharper over time, especially as we wade the informational sea of the Internet. The photograph poses profound questions about the nature of memory and forgetting in both humans and machines alike. What remains when a machine forgets? How does our fragmented recollection of the past get reconstructed? Through Tau's groundbreaking work, we are invited to explore these complex issues and deepen our understanding of the dynamic interplay between artificial intelligence and the human experience.

Future Mythologies: Persephone, Anne Spalter

Flamingo's recent generative AI collection is rounded out by the thought-provoking, otherworldly work co-created by Anne Spalter–the groundbreaking digital mixed-media artist who has been blazing a trail in AI and crypto art for years. Spalter's pioneering work in digital fine arts began with the establishment of the original programs at Brown University and The Rhode Island School of Design in the 1990s. Her eclectic influences, ranging from Buddhist art to Jungian archetypes and Surrealism, infuse her work, which spans large-scale installations and bold experiments with technology.

Created with the help of Nathaniel Stern, Future Mythologies is an odyssey of artistic exploration. The work fuses together 12 poems, produced in collaboration with text-based AIs, with a captivating video crafted with text-to-image AI. These poems offer an original take on an old theme – Greek mythology–with a sci-fi twist. The viewer is introduced to Persephone (the queen of the underworld) navigating through an AI-generated space with a steadfast determination to seek out beauty.

Let’s hope she wins; Spalter’s contributions to the world of digital fine arts have been nothing short of revolutionary, and this work is a testament to her unrelenting commitment to push the boundaries of artistic expression. Flamingo is honored to include this work as part of its collection.

Flamingo's unwavering commitment to supporting emerging artists is not limited to the above. To date, Flamingo has collected nearly 10,000 works and collectibles, as part of its continual effort to push the boundaries of digital art, including genre-bending pieces from diverse artists across the globe. With a strong focus on generative art, pixel art, and more, Flamingo members are constantly seeking new opportunities to learn and engage with emerging movements and the artists who are guiding them forward.

In addition to the works mentioned above, the DAO wanted to highlight some other notable pieces such as Sabotage by Kim Asendorf, Direct Line to Heaven by Hafftka, and Heart Throb / M7 Planet by Riniifish.

Through its dedication to building an inclusive collection, Flamingo showcases the power of collaboration, discussion, and thought. The DAO was a supporter of many artists who are now giants in the space, collecting early works from XCOPY, Snowfro, William Mapan, IX Shells, and Tyler Hobbs. With each new work added to the collection and each artist championed, Flamingo members remain optimistic about the future of digital art.