You might be thinking to yourself that, sure, AI is disrupting many sectors, but the impact to art collecting is minor, right?
The subtle and yet significant ways AI is refashioning the art world may surprise you. AI is transforming not only the creation but also the appreciation and acquisition of art.
Welcome to the future of art collecting, where AI serves as a tool, not a replacement, for art professionals and discerning collectors. Think of AI as your personal art assistant, helping you enjoy and learn more about art.
Let’s move from general ideas to a concrete example by using Markus Linnenbrink’s artwork to demonstrate AI’s ability to assist collectors with finding more art that they love.
Your Personal Art Assistant
Discovering artists who are new to you can be a source of joy and a chance to expand your collection and community. Galleries, art fairs and exhibitions, museums, open studios, art publications and social media are all excellent resources, but where to begin?
This is where ChatGPT can step in, offering a tailored experience in finding art that resonates with your taste, preferences, and interests.
ChatGPT can make personalized art recommendations based on a variety of factors including artistic styles, themes and subjects, mediums and techniques, color palette preferences, cultural interests, sizes, and formats, to name just a few.
To keep things simple, I asked ChatGPT to provide names of artists working in styles similar to Linnenbrink’s.
New Chat
However, it’s important to keep in mind that the contemporary art scene is constantly evolving, and the best way to discover emerging artists is to stay engaged with various art platforms, galleries, and exhibitions. You can visit the websites of art centers like Kunsthalle Nürnberg or follow art marketplaces and publications for the latest updates on emerging talents.
Previously, I was unaware of all these artists. While good recommendations, one didn’t quite resonate with me, so I shared that information with ChatGPT and asked for more recommendations, which it provided. A key to a successful outcome is to iterate on prompts until you get helpful answers.
The “Off the Wall” exhibition was held in 2014. If I asked ChatGPT for information on a more current show from say, last month, it may respond that its data isn’t trained up to that date.
PRO TIP:
Using ChatGPT-4, if it responds that it’s unable to provide the answer because its data is only current to a specific date, simply append the prompt and tell ChatGPT to specifically use Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, to find the information. Example prompt: Please use Bing to find information on Markus Linnenbrink’s exhibition from last month.
Next Steps
We’ve explored just one way that AI can serve as an art assistant, but there are many other possibilities. These include art market insights, conservation considerations, collection management, provenance research, and beyond. Now, use these ideas and knowledge as a baseline for your own continued exploration.
For guidance on setting up a ChatGPT account, understanding the ethics of AI use, learning AI terminology, and more, refer to the Arts Practitioners’ Guides to Generative AI.
Note: For consistency ChatGPT was used for this article, but the instructions and examples given are universal across generative AI tools, including Bard, Claude, and others. Choose the tool that is right for you.
By Natalie Diggins, Technologist, and Founder of TheArts.ai
Written with the assistance of ChatGPT-4.