AURÈCE VETTIER

ARTIST

NFT DROP: 16 AUGUST 2024 | 6 PM CET "phénomènes atmosphériques" by aurèce vettier is a collection of eleven artworks that evoke the awe and melancholy of fleeting natural phenomena. Inspired by a childhood memory of witnessing the Hale-Bopp comet, these works capture the haunting beauty of comets, auroras, and storms—sometimes rare atmospheric events that once filled the night sky with wonder.
In this series, aurèce vettier attempts to reconstruct these celestial moments using a bespoke text-to-image AI model, reflecting on their impermanence and the encroaching impact of modernity, where landscapes once untouched by time are now overtaken by concrete and artificial light. Each piece serves as a fragment of a lost world, a tribute to the ephemeral splendor that once was. <meta charset="utf-8">Part of the group exhibition THE PATH TO THE PRESENT, 1954–2024. On view at EXPANDED.ART in Berlin from 2 July – 7 SEPTEMBER 2024.

aurèce vettier | phénomènes atmosphériques

View the NFT (Tezos) on <a href="https://objkt.one/t/93">objkt.one</a>. ABOUT EXPANDED.ART x objkt.one All NFTs (1 of 1s) will be available via auctions on objkt.one on August 31, 6 PM CET.
ABOUT THE WORK “For aurèce vettier, digital is not an end in itself. By considering artificial intelligence as an interlocutor, the artistic studio founded by Paul Mouginot in 2019 claims a hybrid approach that is always ready to give cuttings.
aurèce vettier's herbariums have a photographic sharpness that is reminiscent of the work of Karl Blossfeldt. By isolating details, a bud in the making, the fineness of a stem, the curvature of a leaf, the studio seems to be following in the tradition of scientific observation through oil painting. But the relationship to the scientist is not where one thinks it is. It is in the code. These plants, so ornamental, are not real, and they could probably not exist without the computer that generates them. They appear plausible through an algorithm that composes from real databases and herbaria, but they are grown as anomalies, so to speak. The plant breeder is the person who spends his time creating new varieties, most often roses come to mind. It may be a question of obtaining more fragrant flowers, more resistant plants, but in the field of horticulture it is more often than not a question of aesthetic reasons; the same reasons that motivate the breeder, and lead him to finish the pieces with brushes, to give them a materiality off the screen.
Cultivars, those man-made varieties, can be more fragile for the very reasons they are sought after. A double row of petals discourages pollinating insects and makes the flower sterile, unable to reproduce without manual intervention. aurèce vettier's creations also have a link to rarity; they are unique because they are selected from hundreds of possibilities produced by artificial intelligence. They are unique because they are the result of a dialogue between different hands and intelligences, those of the programmer, the painter or the sculptor and of course that of this generative entity. At no time is it a question of letting "the computer spit out works", as aurèce vettier emphasizes, claiming that beyond the concept, there is a sensitive approach that goes as far as the making of objects. The herbariums can thus be continued by the sculpture which reproduces a branch or a shoot. The work is enriched by various traditional techniques such as bronze or painting.
Before founding aurèce vettier studio, Paul Mouginot created a company that provided algorithms and applications to the fashion industry. Familiar with new technologies and art history, and a collector of contemporary art in particular, he did not embark on this new challenge randomly. Close to historical digital artists and current technophile communities, he had a clear idea of how he could renew approaches by moving towards more hybridity in both content and form. Where many artists who handle code get involved in writing, and develop artificial intelligence through database design before letting the machine stand on its own, aurèce vettier intends to extend the collaboration beyond protocol. As the studio claims, the algorithms used are not necessarily the most recent or the most complex, but those that leave the most room for a return trip with the human.
There is indeed a notion of dialogue with artificial intelligence; it needs time to learn and adjust. It needs to be fed with a database, as vast or as specific as possible, to prepare it to grasp subtleties and then practice.
Each programmer develops according to his or her own individuality and the simpler the algorithm, the more it shows the sensitivity of the person behind it. So there is no fear of copyright, on the contrary. "The algorithm is an engine for writing, a way of encouraging creation," explains aurèce vettier. So when he started writing poems and then set about finishing René Daumal's unfinished novel Le Mont Analogue, it was with the enthusiasm of the Surrealists for automatic writing. Like automatic writing, the algorithm can provide access to the unconscious and, through the interplay of translations between English (the language most commonly used in computing) and French, can be used to compose in a completely lucid manner.
Extending his kinship with the surrealists, aurèce vettier's latest works find their starting point in dreams. By seeking to transcribe them into images through the use of algorithms, the studio blurs the lines and surprises itself: technology extends human dreams and enriches them. Through his work process and his performances as a public writer, aurèce vettier is looking for new ways of interacting with the public or with technology, and in so doing, he is part of the line of artists who, after Barthes and his essay on the death of the author, are abandoning the idea of individual artistic genius in order to better assert our collective creative capacities.” – Henri Guette, art critic, member of AICA, and exhibition curator
Text originally published in the literary magazine Sève, edited by Vidya Narine, in September 2022

what was found in the mountain (the language of impossible trees)

View the NFT (Tezos) on <a href="https://objkt.one/t/91">objkt.one</a>. ABOUT EXPANDED.ART x objkt.one All NFTs (1 of 1s) will be available via auctions on objkt.one on August 31, 6 PM CET.
ABOUT THE WORK “For aurèce vettier, digital is not an end in itself. By considering artificial intelligence as an interlocutor, the artistic studio founded by Paul Mouginot in 2019 claims a hybrid approach that is always ready to give cuttings.
aurèce vettier's herbariums have a photographic sharpness that is reminiscent of the work of Karl Blossfeldt. By isolating details, a bud in the making, the fineness of a stem, the curvature of a leaf, the studio seems to be following in the tradition of scientific observation through oil painting. But the relationship to the scientist is not where one thinks it is. It is in the code. These plants, so ornamental, are not real, and they could probably not exist without the computer that generates them. They appear plausible through an algorithm that composes from real databases and herbaria, but they are grown as anomalies, so to speak. The plant breeder is the person who spends his time creating new varieties, most often roses come to mind. It may be a question of obtaining more fragrant flowers, more resistant plants, but in the field of horticulture it is more often than not a question of aesthetic reasons; the same reasons that motivate the breeder, and lead him to finish the pieces with brushes, to give them a materiality off the screen.
Cultivars, those man-made varieties, can be more fragile for the very reasons they are sought after. A double row of petals discourages pollinating insects and makes the flower sterile, unable to reproduce without manual intervention. aurèce vettier's creations also have a link to rarity; they are unique because they are selected from hundreds of possibilities produced by artificial intelligence. They are unique because they are the result of a dialogue between different hands and intelligences, those of the programmer, the painter or the sculptor and of course that of this generative entity. At no time is it a question of letting "the computer spit out works", as aurèce vettier emphasizes, claiming that beyond the concept, there is a sensitive approach that goes as far as the making of objects. The herbariums can thus be continued by the sculpture which reproduces a branch or a shoot. The work is enriched by various traditional techniques such as bronze or painting.
Before founding aurèce vettier studio, Paul Mouginot created a company that provided algorithms and applications to the fashion industry. Familiar with new technologies and art history, and a collector of contemporary art in particular, he did not embark on this new challenge randomly. Close to historical digital artists and current technophile communities, he had a clear idea of how he could renew approaches by moving towards more hybridity in both content and form. Where many artists who handle code get involved in writing, and develop artificial intelligence through database design before letting the machine stand on its own, aurèce vettier intends to extend the collaboration beyond protocol. As the studio claims, the algorithms used are not necessarily the most recent or the most complex, but those that leave the most room for a return trip with the human.
There is indeed a notion of dialogue with artificial intelligence; it needs time to learn and adjust. It needs to be fed with a database, as vast or as specific as possible, to prepare it to grasp subtleties and then practice.
Each programmer develops according to his or her own individuality and the simpler the algorithm, the more it shows the sensitivity of the person behind it. So there is no fear of copyright, on the contrary. "The algorithm is an engine for writing, a way of encouraging creation," explains aurèce vettier. So when he started writing poems and then set about finishing René Daumal's unfinished novel Le Mont Analogue, it was with the enthusiasm of the Surrealists for automatic writing. Like automatic writing, the algorithm can provide access to the unconscious and, through the interplay of translations between English (the language most commonly used in computing) and French, can be used to compose in a completely lucid manner.
Extending his kinship with the surrealists, aurèce vettier's latest works find their starting point in dreams. By seeking to transcribe them into images through the use of algorithms, the studio blurs the lines and surprises itself: technology extends human dreams and enriches them. Through his work process and his performances as a public writer, aurèce vettier is looking for new ways of interacting with the public or with technology, and in so doing, he is part of the line of artists who, after Barthes and his essay on the death of the author, are abandoning the idea of individual artistic genius in order to better assert our collective creative capacities.” – Henri Guette, art critic, member of AICA, and exhibition curator
Text originally published in the literary magazine Sève, edited by Vidya Narine, in September 2022

what was found in the mountain (no wind here can uproot)

View the NFT (Tezos) on <a href="https://objkt.one/t/92">objkt.one</a>. ABOUT EXPANDED.ART x objkt.one All NFTs (1 of 1s) will be available via auctions on objkt.one on August 31, 6 PM CET.
ABOUT THE WORK “For aurèce vettier, digital is not an end in itself. By considering artificial intelligence as an interlocutor, the artistic studio founded by Paul Mouginot in 2019 claims a hybrid approach that is always ready to give cuttings.
aurèce vettier's herbariums have a photographic sharpness that is reminiscent of the work of Karl Blossfeldt. By isolating details, a bud in the making, the fineness of a stem, the curvature of a leaf, the studio seems to be following in the tradition of scientific observation through oil painting. But the relationship to the scientist is not where one thinks it is. It is in the code. These plants, so ornamental, are not real, and they could probably not exist without the computer that generates them. They appear plausible through an algorithm that composes from real databases and herbaria, but they are grown as anomalies, so to speak. The plant breeder is the person who spends his time creating new varieties, most often roses come to mind. It may be a question of obtaining more fragrant flowers, more resistant plants, but in the field of horticulture it is more often than not a question of aesthetic reasons; the same reasons that motivate the breeder, and lead him to finish the pieces with brushes, to give them a materiality off the screen.
Cultivars, those man-made varieties, can be more fragile for the very reasons they are sought after. A double row of petals discourages pollinating insects and makes the flower sterile, unable to reproduce without manual intervention. aurèce vettier's creations also have a link to rarity; they are unique because they are selected from hundreds of possibilities produced by artificial intelligence. They are unique because they are the result of a dialogue between different hands and intelligences, those of the programmer, the painter or the sculptor and of course that of this generative entity. At no time is it a question of letting "the computer spit out works", as aurèce vettier emphasizes, claiming that beyond the concept, there is a sensitive approach that goes as far as the making of objects. The herbariums can thus be continued by the sculpture which reproduces a branch or a shoot. The work is enriched by various traditional techniques such as bronze or painting.
Before founding aurèce vettier studio, Paul Mouginot created a company that provided algorithms and applications to the fashion industry. Familiar with new technologies and art history, and a collector of contemporary art in particular, he did not embark on this new challenge randomly. Close to historical digital artists and current technophile communities, he had a clear idea of how he could renew approaches by moving towards more hybridity in both content and form. Where many artists who handle code get involved in writing, and develop artificial intelligence through database design before letting the machine stand on its own, aurèce vettier intends to extend the collaboration beyond protocol. As the studio claims, the algorithms used are not necessarily the most recent or the most complex, but those that leave the most room for a return trip with the human.
There is indeed a notion of dialogue with artificial intelligence; it needs time to learn and adjust. It needs to be fed with a database, as vast or as specific as possible, to prepare it to grasp subtleties and then practice.
Each programmer develops according to his or her own individuality and the simpler the algorithm, the more it shows the sensitivity of the person behind it. So there is no fear of copyright, on the contrary. "The algorithm is an engine for writing, a way of encouraging creation," explains aurèce vettier. So when he started writing poems and then set about finishing René Daumal's unfinished novel Le Mont Analogue, it was with the enthusiasm of the Surrealists for automatic writing. Like automatic writing, the algorithm can provide access to the unconscious and, through the interplay of translations between English (the language most commonly used in computing) and French, can be used to compose in a completely lucid manner.
Extending his kinship with the surrealists, aurèce vettier's latest works find their starting point in dreams. By seeking to transcribe them into images through the use of algorithms, the studio blurs the lines and surprises itself: technology extends human dreams and enriches them. Through his work process and his performances as a public writer, aurèce vettier is looking for new ways of interacting with the public or with technology, and in so doing, he is part of the line of artists who, after Barthes and his essay on the death of the author, are abandoning the idea of individual artistic genius in order to better assert our collective creative capacities.” – Henri Guette, art critic, member of AICA, and exhibition curator
Text originally published in the literary magazine Sève, edited by Vidya Narine, in September 2022

what was found in the mountain (a shelter for butterflies on Mont Analogue)

In 2019 aurèce vettier has visited the Venice Biennale and came to the "brutal realization" that the role of the artist will have to change. He was irritated to see that the majority of the artworks were mere documentations of the status of the world today. That was not enough for him. So he chose an alias and has started working as an artist called aurèce vettier. Art is about storytelling, so this decision marked the beginning of the portrait of the artist as an AI pioneer.

In conversation with Anika Meier, aurèce vettier discusses art and storytelling, AI and nature, and the new role of the artist in the age of AI.

NATURE AND AI

AURÈCE VETTIER: HAVE WE ALREADY INVENTED EVERYTHING?

MAGAZINE

The exhibition THE PATH TO THE PRESENT, 1954–2024 will showcase artists from different generations, from the early 1950s until today, working in the field of generative art and AI.

GROUP SHOW

THE PATH TO THE PRESENT, 1954–2024 | GALLERY

Techno Terrain: Nature in the Age of the Metaverse

EXHIBITION

"serenum foliatus" (AV-2024-U-542) is part of aurèce vettier's POTENTIAL HERBARIUMS, a body of carefully crafted physical works representing impossible forms of plants and trees dreamed up by artificial intelligence.
To realize this bronze tree, aurèce vettier collected 4 million herbarium plates to feed a bespoke artificial intelligence model called GAN (Generative Adversarial Network). This cutting-edge tool generated a synthesis of this digital herbarium, creating intriguing tree forms that could be described as anti-Darwinian. These forms were then 3D-modeled so that they could be examined from all angles. aurèce vettier then ventured into the forests of his native Savoie region to collect small fragments of branches that matched the sections of the 3D model before assembling a wooden mock-up of the tree.
To bring this digital creation back to reality, the mock-up was cast in bronze using a "lost wood" technique. The leaves of the tree were 3D printed and cast using injection molding. The patina is applied with ammonium dichromate to maintain the golden tone of the bronze, while the leaves are white. The technique employed, combining a wide range of digital and physical know-how, creates a totally unique, hybrid piece.

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