From 10.12.23 to 10.03.2024, CRYPTOGALLERY #ONE will be presenting the decentralized, autonomous artist Botto, one of the first of its kind in the world. Botto is the most radical project to date realizing a completely autonomous, self-generating art incorporating all aspects of creation, aesthetic judgement and commercialization.
Cryptogallery #ONE is a virtual art project in the Metaversum Decentraland by Christoph Faulhaber in cooperation with Kunsthalle Mannheim.
The opening event, when a panel of artists will also discuss Botto, will take place in the Kunsthalle auditorium at 3pm on Sunday 10.12.23, featuring Mario Klingemann (artist), Christoph Faulhaber (artist, curator) and Heiko Daniels (curator, Kunsthalle Mannheim).
Now that art’s autonomy has come to an end, will the autonomous artist emerge? Since 2021, Mario Klingemann, AI artist and creator of Botto, has been enquiring whether a self-learning art machine can create original art and thus be recognized as an independent artist in an exemplary, experimental context.
According to him, Botto is a new art form, a so-called decentralized artist who, through the combination of A.I. models, blockchain technology and the support of a human community, develops his own aesthetics and oeuvre, and is striving to achieve complete autonomy sometime in the future.
Every week, Botto creates around 8000 images autonomously. The best of these images are filtered out using a “taste” model. This process takes place without human intervention. Images and text input, the so-called “prompts”, are not changed. The only training input comes when the Botto community (BottoDAO) vote on their favourite pieces from the pool of images suggested to them by the taste model. The voting is done in the Botto channels of the instant messenger Discord. Here, members can elaborate on their personal preferences and curatorial choices. Thus, Botto’s taste model and its capacity for judgement are shaped over time by the community’s feedback. Only the most popular work in each voting round is ultimately minted and sold as an NFT, so acquiring the dignity of a finished work of art. The proceeds from this sale flow back into the community to reward them for their contributions and cover Botto’s operating costs. This economic aspect is a key feature of Botto: contributors are attracted, the creative process is sustained, and so Botto is not only aesthetically but also economically productive.
Now, Christoph Faulhaber and the Kunsthalle Mannheim are showing a selection of works by Botto from various periods of the artist’s growing oeuvre in CRYPTOGALLERY #ONE. The titles of these work periods are determined by the community and represent the only direct influence on Botto: Rebellion, Paradox, Fragmentation, Genesis and Absurdism.
The reconstruction of Ruja Ignatova’s private apartment, the home of a woman who committed a billion-dollar fraud with the fake currency One Coin and is one of the FBI’s ten most wanted persons, can also be seen in the gallery’s loft apartment. (Just take the lift!)
Curators: Christoph Faulhaber, Heiko Daniels
