On December 20th, 2023 the “Interactive Architecture – visions from the White Mile” structure was inaugurated in Forlì, built in Giardini Orselli, which will be accessible to all those who visit the historic center until January 20th, 2024. It is an artistic installation that works mainly with Artificial Intelligence, created by the contemporary artist Igor Imhoff. An interactive experience to bring everyone closer to new technologies and art. The user is transformed into a digital artwork thanks to the intervention of AI which reinterprets reality and cultural heritage in an innovative way.
Igor Imhoff, Visioni dal Miglio Bianco, architettura interattiva, 2023, ph Evans Dorri, courtesy Vertov Project
«The reality interpreted by the AI is site-specific (i.e. specifically created for the city of Forlì), it is designed to return original images with visions linked to the valorisation of the artistic-cultural heritage of the Miglio Bianco, the monumental route from the early twentieth century which connects the railway station in Piazzale della Vittoria, a cultural and tourist excellence of the city of Forlì». The experience made its debut in the Forlì area during Ibrida Festival last September, when Igor Imhoff brought Nova Reflexa to EXATR. In that case, however, the AI had been programmed to code the audience’s body as alien, hybrid and shape-shifting.
Igor Imhoff, Visioni dal Miglio Bianco, architettura interattiva, 2023, ph Evans Dorri, courtesy Vertov Project
«Carrying out the “Miglio Bianco” project allowed me to better understand how to manage Machine Learning» Igor explains to me during our meeting. «AI is a powerful tool, but it must be piloted with great care. In this case I worked on the words deduced from the AI by having it observe the images of the historical architecture of Forlì. What was obtained was related to an accurate description of the painting from the early 1900s, my great passion and source of inspiration. All this was combined with a specially created algorithm where aspects of the captured photographic images are then reread by artificial intelligence, faithfully following my pictorial taste and my idea of painting. The intent is to represent, and let those who lend themselves to the game experience, the pictorial idea of an imaginary ideal city».
Igor Imhoff, Visioni dal Miglio Bianco, architettura interattiva, 2023, ph Evans Dorri, courtesy Vertov Project
«The project aims to bring people closer to digital arts and artificial intelligence, making them discover, in a creative and artistic way, the architectural heritage of the city», comment the curators of the installation Francesca Leoni and Davide Mastrangelo from Vertov Project. «The choice for a project of this magnitude could only fall on a multidisciplinary artist like Igor Imhoff who has always used new technologies in his videos and interactive installations. Together we found the way to describe the White Mile as an ideal city». An immersive experience that cannot be missed, in a historical period where AI is talked about a lot and often with prejudice. Igor Imhoff, on the other hand, reconfirms himself as an artist capable of playing with new technologies and making them his own and Interactive Architecture is a clear example of this.
Sara Papini
Info:
Igor Imhoff. Architettura interattiva – visioni dal Miglio Bianco
Forlì, Giardini Orselli
20/12/2023 – 20/01/2024
Everyday, from 18.30 to 22.30, free access
Website: http://www.vertovproject.com/ / https://publione.it/
https://www.scopriforli.it/servizi/eventi/cerca_fase03.aspx?ID=14442
She was born in Genoa but currently lives in Bologna, the city where she graduated from CITEM with a thesis on video art. She works in the world of events in the production sector and is an assistant professor of Visual Studies at UNIBO.
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