Psychedelic Forms - Ceramics and Physical Form in Conversation with Deep Learning

Psychedelic Forms is a series of case studies that explore deep learning (DL) possibilities for creating a tangible form guided by text prompt and 3D object. The selected generated digital 3D objects were manually altered and prepared for 3D printing in ceramics (Figure 1). Glazing happened by hand, often inspired by the AI-generated objects’ vertex colors. And the pouring technique used for painting, it is a metaphor of the thermodynamics of meaning spaces in the latent spaces. ’Psychedelic’ refers to unexpected or unexplored imagination that the human eye has not seen before. Although the original input was well-known ancient sculptures, like Venus and Nymph, the AI model was capable of stylizing the mesh with the inputted text prompt in such a way that the new form was hardly recognizable. The artwork demonstrates embodied experience and transformation of DL model through artistic practice. To be more precise, by introducing clay as physical material to the process, the destruction and alternation of form happened. The interplay of digital, physical, and chemical processes created new meanings and experiences that are discussed in this article. It is proposed as a meaningful and tangible way of navigating latent space. As a result, the neuro-avant-garde mixed with artisan techniques and processes offered irregular transformations that contribute to creativity and imagination augmentation. In other words, irregular mutations can lead to new creations that would not happen otherwise.