In the future, all forms of media, whether still images, videos, or sound, along with public data like traffic feeds and environmental measurements, will become "Digital Raw Data." Artificial Intelligence (AI) will manage, interpret, and process this information.

When there is sufficient data and AI becomes intelligent enough, we will receive results that are indistinguishable from camera-produced images, simply by entering a prompt. Furthermore, AI will be able to enhance quality and predict the past or future of those images. These results will then become input data for the next processing cycles, continuing until it is no longer possible to trace the origin of their 'authenticity'.

The project "A PARALLEL HISTORY — A Study of Artificial Intel-ligence and the Mechanisms of Memory" by Simon Brodbeck and Lucie de Barbuat is not just a fun experiment using AI to copy legendary photos. Instead, it predicts the scenario described above. Simon and Lucie used AI to "re-photograph" images by feeding the system as much data as possible about the old photos. As the project statement says: "Each image results from meticulous research into the original techniques, the context of capture, location, and date, aimed at recreating the scene with precision."

This project was created between 2022 and 2023, using early versions of AI image generation. This was the same period when Boris Eldagsen created "THE ELECTRICIAN" from the series "PSEU-DOMNESIA" (Fake Memory), which sparked a global debate about Generative AI Photography. During this early development phase, AI generated images based on simple human language (Prompts). The results were not perfect and had many flaws. However, these errors created a new "Aesthetic." Examples include faces that looked like melted clay, missing or extra fingers, and surreal distortions that resembled a nightmare.

Because the data libraries were small and the coding was incomplete, the results were sometimes suspicious. For example, consider the image "Raising a Flag over the Reichstag" by Yevgeny Khaldei, which shows the Russian victory over Germany. AI certainly had access to public historical data (like Wikipedia). However, the generated image showed a flag that only resembled the Russian flag which AI should not miss that simple information like this. Anyway, if AI generates fingers that are missing or extra, how can we possibly expect it to get the hammer and sickle right?

This work opens a discussion on "Appropriation Art." The process has moved from simple methods to something more complex. It is no longer direct borrowing like the work of Richard Prince or Sherrie Levine. Instead, it is a borrow-ing of "data and memory." This is similar to Cindy Sherman’s process, where she acted as characters in her photographs. It combines memory and collective human knowledge to create new work. It retains the charm of challenging the Modern Art concept of "originality." Finally, this highlights the impact on photography. AI is merely a gun today, but it will transform into an atomic warhead in the near future.

About the Artist
Brodbeck & de Barbuat (Simon Brodbeck and Lucie de Barbuat) are a Franco-German artist duo based in Paris. Since 2005, their projects have taken the form of ensembles that question the history of photography and the representation of reality in contemporary images. Inspired by beliefs linked to the mystery of the soul, their work captures Man’s silent melancholy in different ways, highlighting the gap between his existence and the world of dreams.

Fellows of the Villa Medici, French Academy in Rome from 2016 to 2017, they are graduates of the École nationale supérieure de la Photographie in Arles, and the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales in Paris. Winners of the national photographic commission « Image 3.0 » in partnership with the Jeu de Paume and the Cnap national collections in 2021, they were awarded the Prix Jeune création 2013, the HSBC Award for Photography in 2010 and the Nestlé prize at the Festival Images Vevey 2010.

Their work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Fotomuseum in Antwerp, the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, the Villa Médicis in Rome and the Institut français du Japon, and group exhibitions including the Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles, the Arsenale in Venice, the Cairo Biennale, the Saatchi gallery in London, the Museum of Photography in Thessaloniki and the Mucem in Marseille, among others.

https://www.brodbeckdebarbuat.com/