Artist Talk: Mario Klingemann
Join us Sunday December 13 for a conversation with Mario Klingemann the artist who conceived Botto in 2018, exploring authorship and the evolution of Botto's creative practice.
Mario Klingemann is an artist who has spent more than thirty years building his own instruments and systems, from generative algorithms to custom neural networks. Drawing on information theory, cybernetics and the study of perception, his work asks how much of the making and judging of art can be handed to a machine, and what remains of the artist once it is. Memories of Passersby I (2018), an installation that generates an endless stream of portraits without human intervention, was an early answer; A.I.C.C.A. (2023) shifted the machine's role from maker to critic. Botto, conceived in 2018 and launched in 2021 with the software collective ElevenYellow, takes the question furthest. He remains its guardian, and the two work together daily. His work has been shown at Centre Pompidou, ZKM Karlsruhe and Art Basel.
Botto is a decentralized autonomous artist. Conceived in 2018 by Mario Klingemann and launched in October 2021, it generates images that a community of stewards, BottoDAO, votes on in weekly rounds. The winning work each week is minted and sold at auction, and part of the proceeds returns to the voters. The votes shape what Botto makes next; its taste is shaped collectively by this input. Botto is a novel exploration of machine creativity, and an experiment in community, agency and value distribution. Botto's working sessions can be followed live in Botto's Studio.
The talk is free to enter. Please arrive early. Seating is limited.