The Painting Fool is an artificial artist created by Simon Colton of Imperial College, London. The software generates its artwork digitally and can paint in a variety of styles. Whatever you think about the paintings – they're certainly not for everybody – the idea that software can now produce artworks that we cannot anticipate is compelling, and challenges our ideas about how creativity works. New Scientist reviews the Fool's portfolio.
The Dancing Salesman Problem
Portrait of a girl
An early artwork, in which the Painting Fool applied its own painting style to a photo of a girl.
New Scientist verdict: "An initially haunting depiction of a fragile-looking girl, but somewhat disappointing when you discover it is based on an existing image."
One of its most recent works, here the Painting Fool learned the "visual grammar" of the human body, then applied that knowledge to create a series of novel scenes. No digital photograph was used in its construction.
New Scientist verdict: "It could never be to everyone's taste, but the flowing paint strokes joining the dancers and vibrant colour creates an illusion of motion and demands attention."
New Scientist verdict: "It could never be to everyone's taste, but the flowing paint strokes joining the dancers and vibrant colour creates an illusion of motion and demands attention."
Portrait of a girl
An early artwork, in which the Painting Fool applied its own painting style to a photo of a girl.
New Scientist verdict: "An initially haunting depiction of a fragile-looking girl, but somewhat disappointing when you discover it is based on an existing image."
Uneasy
Another of the Fool's earlier works, this chair was intended to come out in colour, but due to a glitch, the Painting Fool surprised its creators with a black-and-white image.
New Scientist verdict: "The black-and-white palette was an accident, but the end result is better for it. After all, many human artists are lauded for their restricted use of colour."
Another of the Fool's earlier works, this chair was intended to come out in colour, but due to a glitch, the Painting Fool surprised its creators with a black-and-white image.
New Scientist verdict: "The black-and-white palette was an accident, but the end result is better for it. After all, many human artists are lauded for their restricted use of colour."
Four Seasons
Landscapes that the Painting Fool generated itself.
New Scientist verdict: "Rather mechanical-looking, but more impressive when you consider they came from a rudimentary imagination."
Landscapes that the Painting Fool generated itself.
New Scientist verdict: "Rather mechanical-looking, but more impressive when you consider they came from a rudimentary imagination."
Afghanistan collage
By performing independent searches of text, news stories and even online social networks, the Painting Fool can form its "view" of a topic and adapt its painting style to suit. The hope is to create artworks that will resonate with us. Here, it created a collage based on a 2009 news story about the war in Afghanistan.
New Scientist verdict: "The idea that the Painting Fool can come to its own interpretations of a topic is a tantalising possibility for its future work."
http://www.newscientist.com/
By performing independent searches of text, news stories and even online social networks, the Painting Fool can form its "view" of a topic and adapt its painting style to suit. The hope is to create artworks that will resonate with us. Here, it created a collage based on a 2009 news story about the war in Afghanistan.
New Scientist verdict: "The idea that the Painting Fool can come to its own interpretations of a topic is a tantalising possibility for its future work."
http://www.newscientist.com/
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